Darryl Sittler has a claim to be the Greatest Toronto Maple Leaf of All Time, as the former franchise record holder for Points, among other things. And though he was never clearly the best player in the league, he was one of the better ones for over half a decade, and a consistent offensive performer much longer.
Does his lack of NHL playoff success hurt him?
In this episode, we discuss whether or not Darryl Sittler belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame:
Darryl Sittler’s Career:
- NHL: 1970-85; 15 seasons, 12 quality
- Totals:
- 484G (13th All Time at his retirement),
- 637A (19th All Time at his retirement) for
- 1121P (15th All Time at his retirement),
- +57 in
- 1096 Games;
- 95.9 PS;
- At his retirement, Sittler was 20th All Time in Offensive Point Shares;
- Draft: In his draft class (1970), Sittler, drafted 8th overall is,
- 2nd in Goals
- 2nd in Assists
- 2nd in Points
- 5th in Plus/Minus
- 5th (2nd Forward) in Point Shares
- 2nd in Games
- Era: Of the 19 skaters to play in at least 902 Games (11 modern seasons) between 1970 and 1985, Sittler is
- 3rd in Goals
- T-5th in GPG
- 5th in Assists
- 6th in APG
- 5th in Points
- 5th in PPG
- 13th in Plus/Minus
- 4th in Offensive Point Shares
- 12th in Defensive Point Shares (8th Forward)
- 7th in Point Shares
- 2nd in Games
- 82-game average: 36G, 48A for 84P, +4
- 3-year peak (1977-80): 80-game average of 43G, 64A for 107P, +24
- No possession stats
- Playoffs:
- 29G,
- 45A for
- 74P,
- -21 in
- 76 Games
- Era: Of the hundreds of skaters to play in at least 41 playoff games between 1970 and 1985, Sittler is
- 32nd in playoff Goals
- 32nd in playoff GPG
- 31st in playoff Assists
- 24th in playoff APG
- 31st in playoff Points
- 25th in playoff PPG
- Not in the Top 200 in playoff Plus/Minus
- 66th in playoff playoff Games
- Adjusted for Era:
- Hockey Reference:
- 409G,
- 550A for
- 959P
- 82-game average: 31G, 41A for 72P (-12P per 82 games)
- Per Game: not on any adjusted PPG leader-boards
- VsX:
- 439G
- 655A
- 973P
- Per Game: Obviously not on any VsX PPG leader-boards
- Hockey Reference:
- Trades:
- Traded at 31 to the Flyers for a player to be named later (Ken Strong), a 1982 2nd Rounder (Peter Ihnacak) and Rich Costello (18) – somehow not in our list of the worst trades in Toronto Maple Leaf history
- Traded at 34 to the Red wings for Murray Craven (20) and Joe Paterson (24)
Darryl Sittler’s Accomplishments:
- Top 5 in Hart voting once
- All Star:
- 2nd Team All Star once
- 4 All Star Game appearances
- Top Player:
- Top 5 Offensive Player (by OPS) once (‘78)
- Top 10 Offensive Player five times (‘74, ‘76, ‘77, ‘79)
- Goals:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 10 in Goals three times
- GPG leader-boards:
- Top 10 in GPG three times
- Single-season totals:
- 45 goals once
- 40 goals five times (1 of only 13 players ever at his retirement)
- 35 goals 9 times (1 of only 17 players ever, 5 at his retirement – Dionne, Esposito, Bobby Hull, Howe)
- 30 goals ten times (1 of only 7 players ever at his retirement)
- 25 goals twelve times (1 of only 12 players ever at his retirement)
- Leader-boards:
- Assists:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 5 in Assists once
- Top 10 twice
- APG leader-boards:
- Top 5 in APG once
- Top 10 twice
- Single-season totals:
- 70 assists once (1 of only 21 players ever at his retirement)
- 50 assists six times (1 of only 14 players ever at his retirement)
- 40 assists ten times (1 of only 11 players ever at his retirement)
- Leader-boards:
- Points:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 5 in Points once
- Top 10 five times
- PPG leader-boards:
- Top 5 in PPG twice
- Top 10 six times
- Single-season totals:
- 110 points once (1 of only 25 players ever at his retirement)
- 100 points twice
- 90 points five times (1 of only 14 players ever at his retirement)
- 80 points nine times (1 of only 25 players ever, 5 at his retirement – Dionne, Esposito, Mikita, Perreault)
- 70 points eleven times (1 of only 7 players ever at his retirement)
- 60 points twelve times (1 of only 11 players ever at his retirement)
- Leader-boards:
- Vs X Peak:
- Best 7 Seasons:
- Goals: 127th All Time
- Assists: 84th All Time
- Points: 63rd All Time
- Best 10 Seasons:
- Goals: 87th All Time
- Assists: 81st All Time [Tied with Mats!!!]
- Points: 56th All Time
- Best 7 Seasons:
Darryl Sittler’s Great Teams:
- NHL:
- Best Forward (by points) on one Final Four (‘78 Leafs)
- Canada (World) Cup:
- Top 6 Forward (by points) on one Champion (‘76 Canada)
- World Championships:
- Top 3? Forward (by points) on one Bronze (‘82 Canada)
- Top 6? Forward (by points) on one Bronze (‘83 Canada)