Maurice (Rocket) Richard always insisted he was "just a hockey player."

It was others, he'd suggest, who tried to make him a cultural icon or even a revolutionary, leading his French-Canadian comrades to victories on ice that served as a model for later gains in the larger world of business and politics.
It may be so, but as the century closes, Richard, who in his heyday of the 1940s and 1950s was the National Hockey League's first larger-than-life superstar, remains one of Quebec's most beloved heroes.
And it is hard to imagine that the outspoken scoring genius who sparked a riot when he was suspended from the 1955 playoffs was not aware of his role as torch-bearer, not only for the Montreal Canadiens, but for a whole society that felt itself disenfranchised and oppressed.
"People recognize what he did for them, especially the French-Canadians from that time," said Jean Roy, Richard's longtime friend and agent. "He put them on the map.
"People today recognize what he accomplished. His tenacity and his success were an example to everyone."
The Rocket was hockey's first 50-goal scorer, a two-fisted right-winger who demolished the goal-scoring records of his day and took on every brute who tried to cut him down.
Others have been considered better all-round players, such as Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky or even a rival from his own era, Gordie Howe, but those who saw him play insist no one has ever combined talent with flair or passion like Richard.
His flaw -- an explosive temper that led to some appalling acts of on-ice violence -- seemed to well from the same turbulent inner source that produced so many dramatic goals.
"What set the Rocket apart was his intensity," former teammate Bernard (Boom Boom) Geoffrion once said. "If we were down a goal or two, the Rocket was there to tie it up again.
"As soon as he'd touch the puck, you could feel the electricity in the crowd. It was amazing to see how people would react, not only in Montreal, but everywhere he played. There's never been another one like him."
Richard played 18 seasons from 1942 to 1960, amassing a then-record 544 goals and eight Stanley Cup titles with the Canadiens.
His fans considered it robbery, even anti-Quebec discrimination, that he only once won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player, in 1947.
Even in 1944-45, when Richard astonished the hockey world by scoring 50 goals in 50 games, the trophy went to his centreman, Elmer Lach, on the famous Punch Line, which also included left-winger Hector (Toe) Blake.
Never one to pile up assists, he also never won an Art Ross Trophy as league scoring leader.
His best shot at that prize was dashed by his suspension in 1955 -- one more spark that set off the Rocket Richard Riot on St. Patrick's Day that year.
Some say the riot -- directed against NHL president Clarence Campbell, with whom Richard had a running feud -- was a symbolic beginning of Quebec's nationalist movement.
Historians are divided on the significance of the riot -- no one died but plenty of damage was done -- but something big happened that night and for reasons not everyone is sure of, it remains a key date of the 20th century for the city and the country.
Richard, who made a radio address in two languages the next day to calm the seething public, removed himself from the debate.
"I'm not a politician," he said. "I'm just a hockey player."