I love the photo.

This is a real shot of the one and only Don Cherry from his minor-league hockey days 46 years ago at age 28, a picture Robert L. over at Eyes on the Prize wrote about last week in a post that received quite a bit of attention.

How different a personality would Grapes be today had he received another shot in the NHL with the storied Canadiens, a team who we rarely hear him recall fondly? Cherry's been strictly a Bruins and Leafs guy for, well, forever.

Here's Eyes on the Prize's take on his time as a Hab:

Few remember Cherry's brief stint in the CH duds. It is likely only after he became famous as the Bruins coach, and later, even more reknown from Coach's Corner, did anyone likely recall his Canadiens cup of coffee.

Of the few recollections from that time, word arises that the team liked Cherry enough to invite him. It is often discussed that the NHL Habs were on the lookout for players who weren't afraid to drop the gloves, and that is where their interest in Cherry may have came from. The following season, the Canadiens signed John Ferguson, and settled the issue of team toughness in one fell swoop.

Cherry's got a book out these days, just in time for Christmas, and it's something I've been picking my way through the past few days. Let's just say it doesn't quite read like any other hockey book I've ever seen — but that hasn't stopped it from rocketing to No. 1 on the bestseller list.

He's become an incredible personality in this country, someone who received a ridiculous amount of support during a "Greatest Canadian" contest and who still is a must-watch for many on Saturday nights.

It seems fitting he was almost a Canadien, too.

As an aside, Eyes on the Prize is getting onboard here at SBN in the near future as our new Canadiens blog, one of eight or nine sites that should be up and running within a few weeks at most. A big thanks to Robert and everyone else who's signed up to be a part of what we're building here.