Maple Leafs honor Sittler’s 10-point game with special pregame ceremony

Numbers spoke louder than words for Darryl Sittler on Tuesday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Hockey Hall of Famer’s 10-point game in a special ceremony before their matchup against the Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Arena.

On Feb. 7, 1976, Sittler recorded 10 points (six goals, four assists) in an 11-4 Maple Leafs win against the Boston Bruins. It remains the most points scored by a player in a game in NHL history.

A tribute video of all 10 points aired on the arena video board.

Sittler’s teammates from the game joined him on the ice. The former Maple Leafs captain sported his No. 27 jersey as Lanny McDonald and Dave "Tiger" Williams presented him with a golden stick to commemorate the achievement.

The Hall of Famer then performed the ceremonial puck drop between Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews and Sabres forward Tage Thompson.

During a pregame press conference, Sittler shared a special story about his late wife, Wendy, who died in 2001 after a battle with cancer. The Maple Leafs legend said after his wife’s passing he found her ticket stubs from the 10-point game and had them framed. Recently, he took a closer look at the tickets and discovered something special.

“She’s in section 50, she’s in seats 13 and 14 [equals 27], Feb. 7 (2/7) and the price of the ticket, believe it or not, was 10 bucks,” Sittler said in a video posted by the Maple Leafs. “So, it’s an honor for me to bring Wendy into the equation today. She is such an important part of my life.”

Earlier, in the locker room, the Maple Leafs ran through their own numerology and presented Sittler with the J. P. Bickell Memorial Award. That award is given to a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization who performed with a very high standard of excellence over a single season or several years.

Sittler played 13 of his 15 NHL seasons with the Maple Leafs from 1970-1982. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989. The Maple Leafs retired his No. 27 in 2016.