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The proof is in the performance, and the great athletes view it as if it is both the nightly and also the perennial challenge. Those who "get it" treat every game, every season, every playoff run, as if the slate starts clean, as if the kid in the 17th row watching his first NHL game must be won over. They are Springsteen, acting as if each night on stage is going to be not just always remembered by those in the seats, but also recorded as the concert video that defines his career for the next 80 years. And that's even in Peoria.
|  | | Is Bill Guerin a difference-maker or a high-priced offensively-gifted journeyman? |
For the most part, hockey players seem to grasp the concept as well as -- and perhaps better than -- most of their sporting counterparts. The NFL might be the exception, but that has more to do with the limited number of games and the reality that the collective bargaining agreement and non-guaranteed contracts combine to mean that as soon as you're not delivering requisite bang for the buck, you're history.
In the NHL, while complacency and floating -- especially in the wake of signing new long-term contracts -- is not unheard of, at least NHL players are subjected to the disdain of their teammates and other peer pressures if they succumb to the temptation. That's probably even more of an effective control mechanism than the obligation to give the customers or the owners their money's worth.
When we talk about NHL players having something to "prove," the concept of each player needing to live up to their salaries is such a given, it doesn't even need to be pointed out. So when we toss out Bill Guerin as one of the NHL players who has something to "prove" in the upcoming 2002-03 season, it doesn't necessarily involve measuring his contributions in relation to his $8 million salary with the Stars.
Here's what Bill Guerin, LW, Dallas Stars, needs to "prove": That, after his latest stops at Edmonton and Boston, he can be something other than a mercenary. Can he be a true difference-maker? He played on a Cup-winning team at New Jersey, of course, and he helped both the Oilers and the Bruins improve, but this is his real chance to step in with a team that still has a high-caliber core and provide the sort of scoring, grit and leadership that can nudge the Stars back to among the elite.
And here's a look at some other NHL players who have something to prove:
| |  | | | Joseph |
Curtis Joseph, G, Detroit Red Wings: As Dominik Hasek's replacement with a Stanley Cup champion that waved Scotty Bowman adieu and has cause to worry about whether Steve Yzerman ever will return, Joseph's most significant challenge has nothing to do with the views of those in the stands, watching on TV or pontificating at laptop computers. He must sell himself to his teammates as a worthy successor, and much of it is image. Hasek was very good last season, but not unrelentingly great, and the most important thing he did was enable the Wings to play with even more of a swagger, certain in the knowledge that they had that formidable fail-safe mechanism in their net. He came close to eroding that edge by seeming to dodge accountability at times, but he played well enough to avoid having his teammates conclude his skills had significantly deteriorated. Fact was, Hasek got away with periods of mediocrity that Chris Osgood couldn't, and mostly because his teammates were sold on him -- and his image. If Joseph immediately can establish and reinforce that sort of image in the room and on the ice, that's his most important victory.
| |  | | | Forsberg |
Peter Forsberg, C, Colorado Avalanche: In retrospect, it's obvious the Avalanche sandbagged a bit on Forsberg's prognosis after his January surgery, but his playoff performance after missing the entire regular season was nonetheless amazing. Now his challenges are to show that his passion for the game -- the North American game -- can be as renewed in a regular season, and that his body is up to taking the pounding he again will get. When he's all there -- mentally and physically -- he is the best in the game. But will he ever all be there again?
| |  | | | Lemieux |
Mario Lemieux, C, Pittsburgh Penguins: If his comeback truly is about a love of the game, and not the financial concerns of an owner protecting his portfolio, he will let his passion show more often this season. The contradiction was that he seemed to show less concern for the Penguins' season-ticket holders -- his consumers -- as he did for the Canadian Olympic program last season, and many Pittsburgh fans saw through it. After all he has been through on so many physical levels, his courage can't be challenged; but it's not sacrilegious to at least wonder about his motives at this stage of his career.
| |  | | | Fleury |
Theo Fleury, RW, Chicago Blackhawks: Can he overcome his demons after moving to Chicago? Or will he again play as if he's "A Beautiful Mind's" John Nash, spotting a non-existent roommate, a government agent and a 6-year-old girl on the ice with him for every shift?
| |  | | | Theodore |
| |  | | | Iginla |
Jarome Iginla, RW, Calgary Flames, and Jose Theodore, G, Montreal Canadiens:: If the Flames ever stop the implicit small-market whining, step up and sign Iginla, the engaging winger will have the opportunity to show that his breakthrough season was the onset of consistent greatness. And the same concept applies to Theodore. Those of us who believe his 2001-02 season was remarkable, but not worthy of the Hart Trophy, might be less skeptical about that election (in which both Iginla and Patrick Roy were more deserving) if Theodore reprises that performance.
| |  | | | Kasparaitis |
| |  | | | Holik |
Bobby Holik, C, and Darius Kasparaitis, D, New York Rangers: Fair or not, the expectations will be heightened once they step onto the Garden ice in white sweaters. And because Holik's contributions always aren't simply quantifiable, he has to avoid succumbing to the temptation to try to either change his game or do too much offensively. Kasparaitis' eventual assimilation into the Colorado scheme and his adaptability were impressive during his brief Denver stay, which makes the Avs' failure to re-sign him even more puzzling. But that experience, if a harbinger of a Kasparaitis maturation, can serve the Rangers -- and new coach Bryan Trottier -- well.
Terry Frei is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. His book, "Horns, Hogs, and Nixon Coming," will be published by Simon and Schuster in December. It can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com.
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