Leafs Memories

I have been a true Leaf fan since I was a young tyke. Since the year 1967, the last year we won the Stanley Cup. Since my early days of childhood watching the Leafs. I have memories of me and my dad sitting down at suppertime watching the Leafs on "Hockey Night In Canada.”

Even though I am old enough to remember the 1960 's my decade as a Leaf’s fan was the 1970's. My first favourite centre was Darryl Sittler. Darryl was the heart of the Leafs for his whole career. He was everything to the Leafs. He spent fifteen seasons with the Leafs, which included one special night the Bruins would never forget. I am talking about his 10-point night:  February 7, 1976. Six goals and four assists in one night. What made it more special was that it was against the Bruins.

Of course, there was also Darryl's performance on April 22. I remember this game; his four-goal performance in the Leaf's 8-5 victory. He was truly at his best, taking the team on his shoulders and showing true leadership skills.

Another one my favourite players was Lanny Macdonald. He was a true sniper, and pretty much Darryl's best friend. His two best years were in 1976-77 and 1977-78. He scored near the 50-goal plateau twice; 46 and 47 respectively. He was one of the best snipers in the game, known for his quick release. His shot was not the hardest, but often Lanny would get set up by his good buddy, Darryl, for one-timers. 



My favorite memory of Lanny Macdonald is April 29, 1978 in Long Island, the overtime goal in game seven. The goal that was heard all over Canada. I am sure my whole neighbourhood could hear me screaming. 
Another memory from my youth was Ian Turnbull's five-goal performance against the Wings in a 9-1 rout February 2, 1977. Ian was a much-underrated puck-moving defenseman.


So yes, I am a very old and dedicated Leaf fan. These are not all of my favorite memories, but they are some of my best ones. I have always had two favorite teams, and only written for one of them. That is going to change.

Image: By Horge (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons