On This Day January 10th.

Don MetzDon Metz
January 10:   On this day in 1916, Leaf right-winger Don Metz was born in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. Don and his brother Nick played their entire NHL careers as Leafs of the 1930's and 40's. Don's first game as a Leaf was on November 19, 1939. He is one of only three Leafs in team history to play on five Stanley Cup winning teams. The other two are Turk Broda and Ted Kennedy. In 172 games as a Leaf, Metz had 55 points. He went out a winner, retiring in 1949 after the Leafs' third consecutive Stanley Cup victory.

1919/20 - 1920/21 Montreal Canadiens1919/20 - 1920/21 Montreal Canadiens
January 10:  On this day in 1920, the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Toronto St. Patricks by a score of two converted touchdowns to one (14-7). Newsy Lalonde of the Canadiens became the first player in NHL history to score 6 goals in one game. As of 2008, the 21 goals scored in one game remains an NHL record that has been tied once, but never surpassed.

Frank Mahovlich
January 10:  On this day in 1938, Hall-of-Fame left-winger Frank Mahovlich was born in Timmins, Ontario. The "Big M's first game in the NHL was with the Leafs on March 20, 1957. The next season, he won the Calder trophy as rookie of the year, edging out Bobby Hull. Mahovlich played almost 11 full seaons in Toronto where he won four Stanley Cups and led the Leafs in goal scoring for 6 consecutive seasons between 1960-61 and 1965-66. With the Leafs, Mahovlich scored 296 regular season goals and had 597 points. The biggest milestone that narrowly evaded Mahovlich in his NHL career was a 50-goal season. Frank Mahovlich was the centerpiece of a massive trade by the Leafs with the Red Wings on March 3, 1968. In Detroit, he got to play on a line with fellow Hall-of-Famers, Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio. In 1971, Mahovlich was again the prize in a trade between the Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens where the Big M went on to become the 5th player in NHL history to score 500 goals and the 8th player to record 1,000 points. He would go on to win two more Cups with the Habs. He was inducted into the Hall-of-Fame in 1981.

1972/73 - 1994/95 New York Islanders Logo1972/73 - 1994/95 New York Islanders Logo
January 10:  On this day in 1973, the Leafs played the New York Islanders for the first time ever and came out on top 4-2. The 1972-73 season was the Islanders' first in the NHL. They finished in last place in the 8-team East Division but went on to assemble a dynasty that won four straight Cups between 1980-83. As of 2006-07, the Leafs have an all-time losing record against the Islanders of W-52, L-54, T-7, OL-3 in 116 games. In the times the two teams have met in the playoffs, the Leafs won 2 series and lost 1.

Pat Ribble
January 10:  On this day in 1980, the Leafs traded defensemen with the Chicago Black Hawks when they acquired Pat Ribble from Chicago in exchange for Dave Hutchison. Pat Ribble played his junior hockey for the Oshawa Generals of the OHA from 1972 to 1975. It was there that he established himself as a big, crease-clearing rearguard who could move the puck although rarely as far as the opposition's net, but unfortunately Ribble lasted just 13 games in Toronto and was traded to Washington a month later.


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