Rocket Richard With The Toronto Maple Leafs?

Roch Carrier's book The Hockey Sweater is an iconic piece of Canadian literature ever written.  The 1979 short story (it became an animated film in 1981 and children's book in 1984) takes place in 1946, the days of Rocket Richard and the good ol' days of the Original Six featuring the forever rivals Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The story is about a young child in Quebec who, like all young hockey fans in Quebec at the time, was a fan of the Montreal Canadiens and particularly a fan of Maurice Richard. All his hockey playing friends wear Canadiens sweaters with Richard's number 9 on the back. When his mother orders him a new sweater from the Eaton's department store, he is mistakenly sent a sweater of the Toronto Maple Leafs instead. Nothing could be more unthinkable - there is no way he could wear the sweater of the Canadien's bitter rival.

The only thing more unthinkable might be Rocket Richard himself wearing the blue and white of the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

In February 1949 the Globe and Mail posted a story about the Leafs trying to buy Richard from the Canadiens with an "unlimited cash bid." The story shockingly featured an artist's rendition of Richard in a Leafs jersey for dramatic effect.

Richard was already recognized as the game's greatest goal scorer, a Hart Trophy winner and Stanley Cup champion. He was the best of the best with many more great years to come. The thought of him anywhere other than Montreal is absurd.

The idea was so preposterous that it was quickly and rightly dismissed as "propaganda" and a stunt designed to sell newspapers in both cities, but that image must have been quite the shock to the page turners arriving on page 15 of that particular edition of the paper.

"All the money in Toronto wouldn't buy him," snapped Canadiens boss Frank Selke. "In other words, no matter what Leafs offered, Rocket is not for sale. I don't know how anyone can afford to sell a hockey player today. What good is money?"