One is the St. Louis playoff pariah. The other the underachieving first-round, can't-miss pick.

One stands accused of letting in soft goals, the other of playing soft. Both have been taken to task for being tall but not, at critical moments, standing tall.

	Rob Niedermayer, the fifth pick in the 1993 draft, has eclipsed the 50-point plateau only twice in eight years.

Roman Turek and Rob Niedermayer: The two fresh faces being looked to to spearhead a resurgence not many hockey observers regard as possible -- one vaulting the down-at-heel Calgary Flames into the NHL's postseason party for the first time in six seasons.

Turek is being counted on to provide a stabilizing front-line goaltender capable of making 60-65 starts. Niedermayer is seen as the big, strong, No. 1 centerman the team has lacked since Joe Nieuwendyk walked away in a contract dispute what seems like centuries ago. Yet Turek left the Blues under the most, sitting on the bench in Game Five of their playoff ouster at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, and Niedermayer exited Florida following a forgettable 12-goal, 32-point season cut short by injury. Once he had been touted to be the future of the franchise ... when he left there was barely a ripple of regret.

So both these men, figure the Flames, have plenty to prove, and are guaranteed the opportunity at least to do that: to resurrect battered reputations and, in the process, resurrect a sinking franchise.

"You can't put the weight of an entire team on the shoulders of two people," argues first-year coach Greg Gilbert of his new recruits. "Any two people. That's unfair and unrealistic. For our team to be successful, we need everyone chipping in. It's a cliche, I know, but it's true.

"Those fellas are just two pieces of the puzzle." Gilbert stops, smiles. "Two pretty big pieces, though, I'll admit."

Certainly, in playoff-starved Calgary they're banking on the change of scenery revitalizing both men. In St. Louis, Turek was blamed for everything short of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and the break-up of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman over the last two springtimes. And the joke when Calgary GM Craig Button -- who knew Turek well from their days together in Dallas -- swung the deal to land him was: Turek won't have the chance to screw up in the playoffs now, 'cause the Flames never get there in the first place.

In Florida, Niedermayer's inability to blossom into the dominating centerman Panther scouts envisioned six years ago led to his availability -- that, and the enticing prospect of uniting the Bure brothers. The major knock on him has been that he plays far too soft for someone 6-foot-2 and 204 pounds. Flames' assistant coach Brian Skrudland, once a Panther himself, is keen to play devil's advocate on that particular issue.

"I don't agree. Not at all. Rob's a gritty guy who, at times, appears like he's doing it without passion. It's like 'Why doesn't Niedermayer step up?' You hear that a lot but people don't understand," he said. "He makes things look easy, so he gets labelled. He's an exciting talent. A big, strong power skater of a center."

That may very well be. Still, he's scored just 22 goals over the past two seasons. The man he was dealt for, malcontent winger Valeri Bure (as yet unsigned by the Panthers), had by all measures a miserable time last season yet still wound up with 27 goals, one more than Niedermayer collected during his best NHL year.

"It was time for a change," says Niedermayer on this day at Flames' training camp in Banff, the picture-postcard-pretty resort nestled in the Canadian Rockies. "Sometimes when you stay too long in one place, things go stale."

	“	It was time for a change. Sometimes when you stay too long in one place, things go stale. ”
		— Rob Niedermayer, Flames center

He could've been speaking for Turek, as well.

Turek won 66 games for the Blues over the past two years but the drop in Ws one season to the next -- from 42 to 24 -- was significant, as was the emergence of Brent Johnson as a capable go-to goaltender. Here, there will be no Al MacInnis and/or Chris Pronger in front of him at all times anymore. He's used to a heavy workload, but not of this fashion. Only three teams in the West surrendered more goals than Calgary in 2000-2001 so he can count on seeing more and more difficult shots.

This is a franchise that's gone through Fred Brathwaite, J.S. Giguere, Ken Wregget, Tyler Moss, Rick Tabaracci, Dwayne Roloson, Grant Fuhr and Trevor Kidd the past four seasons.

"The Flames are my team now," says the lanky Czech, shrugging. "Whatever happened in the past, in St. Louis, is over. I can't go back and change any of it. I felt some of what was said and written was unfair, but what could I do about it?

"I knew they would move me."

That was no secret after Blues' coach Joel Quenneville decided to bench the beleaguered Turek and use Johnson in goal for the make-or-break fifth game against the Avs in the Western final. St. Louis ultimately lost, 2-1, but Johnson performed brilliantly, thereby sealing Turek's fate.

"I didn't play my best when we lost that series but neither did some other guys," he says now. "Do I have something to prove? I always think I have to prove myself. Like now. People keep telling me 'Oh, you're the No. 1 guy' but Vernie (Mike Vernon) has won two Stanley Cups. He's a veteran; he's proven he can do the job. So I never take anything for granted."

Niedermayer shouldn't, either. Although he's assured of playing a major role on this hockey club.

"This really is breath of fresh air for me. I like the make-up here; what they are trying to do. You need all sorts of players to put together a solid team. They're really stressing a group concept."

As opposed to, by way of example, those Florida Panthers -- an absolute bust last year -- where the focus is on Bure, Bure and even more Bure?

"Well," replies Niedermayer, "it's been proven in this league over and over and over that teams can't win with one player, no matter how great that player might be; how many goals he scores.

"It really was a terrible year there last season. So much controversy and speculation and then the firings (of coach Terry Murray and GM Bryan Murray). It was just a difficult thing to go through."

There are differing degrees of difficulty, of course. The task at hand in Calgary is a formidable one, too. Everyone is aware of the Flames' small-market Canadian woes. This team needs something to ignite the enthusiasm of an apathetic public to rekindle its love affair with NHL hockey.

Much scrutiny will be heaped upon the two new recruits.

And there is always, for traded players, the little matter of personal redemption; of that initial confrontation with the team that deemed you expendable. Was Turek aware he wouldn't need to wait long to face Pronger, MacInnis, Scott Young and the boys?

"Oh, yeah," he replies. "I knew. Oct. 22nd. In St. Louis, too. I checked right away to find out when that game would be. But even if I hadn't, friends back there knew and were wanting tickets.

"You've got a job to do wherever you play. It's not about revenge, exactly. But pride. Once that first game is finished, you can move on. I've only done it once before, when I played against Dallas the first time but, yeah, there is a feeling you want to show them they made a mistake. I think it's true for any player."

Right, Rob?

Interestingly, only four days earlier Niedermayer will get his chance, when the Panthers pay a visit to the Saddledome.

George Johnson of the Calgary Herald is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.