Nearly every NHLer experiences a career year. But some career seasons are clearly superior to others. Such was the case for Darryl Glen Sittler of Kitchener, Ont., who spent most of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sittler’s “career year” came in 1976. On Feb. 7, in a game at Maple Leaf Gardens, Sittler recorded a record 10 points against the Boston Bruins. The centerman scored six goals and set up four other markers. No NHL player — not even Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux or Gordie Howe — has even come close to Sittler’s accomplishment. Not surprisngly, the Maple Leafs won the game, 11-4. On April 22, the Maple Leafs’ captain tied an NHL record when he scored five goals in a playoff game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Sadly for Sittler and his teammates, the Leafs lost that playoff series. Then, in September, Sittler won the first-ever Canada Cup championship for Team Canada with a memorable goal in overtime in the title game with Czechoslovakia.

All of the Leafs’ goals in Sittler’s record-setting game were registered against Bruins rookie Dave Reece, whom coach Don Cheery (now a CBC commentator) left in the net the entire 60 minutes.
 
In a video titled “75 Forever: The Tradition of the Toronto Maple Leafs,” which commemorated the club’s 75th anniversary, Ron Ellis, a teammate of Sittler’s and a talented player himself, called Sittler “one of the hardest working players I ever saw.”
 
In the video, Maple Leafs blue line great Borje Salming laughed and said, “I had five assists that night but I don’t think that anybody remembered.”

“I don’t know why it happened,” said a befuddled Sittler in “75 Forever.” “The stars were lined up right and the pucks just went in . . . At the end of the second (period), I was told that the record was eight points. And at the end of the second period I already had seven points.”

An announcement by the Gardens staff that Sittler was just a point shy of Rocket Richard’s record sent the pro-Leafs crowd into a frenzy during the intermission at the end of the middle period. They were on their feet cheering wildly when Sittler and the Leafs took the ice for the third period. 
 
Sittler’s finished the 1975-76 regular season game with 41 goals and 59 assists for 100 points. Amazingly, one-tenth of that point total came in one game.