Algonquin round table wit and raconteur Dorothy Parker once observed that "the two most beautiful words in the English language are 'check enclosed.'" Voltaire felt that when cash was in question, "everyone was of the same religion." And Peter Sellers, bumbling old Clouseau himself, noted wryly that "people will swim through (anything) if you put a few bob on it."

	Besides the Hart Trophy, Jose Theodore also won the Vezina, which is voted on by league GMs.

Money.

It may not, as advertised, be the root of all evil. But it's usually at the root of most problems.

What's enough? What's fair? And how much borders on the obscene? Nowhere are these issues of finance, these confusions of capital, more evident than in the out-of-whack world of professional sports. With another baseball work stoppage in the offing, players there earning an average of $2.5 million a year for barely breaking a sweat on a lot of nights, and an almost certain repeat two years down the road in hockey, greed and gluttony are once again the watchwords of our sporting pastimes.

As a sign of the times, the NHL's two best players a season ago, arguably its two shining young beacons, remain unsigned as restricted free agents as the opening of training camps beckon.

Jose Theodore and Jarome Iginla. They've got a lot in common.

The 1-2 Hart Trophy finalists are both considered the cornerstones of their respective franchises, the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens. They're both young -- Iginla is 25, Theodore will be 26 on Sept. 13. Both, from all we've seen, are nice, polite, well-adjusted guys. Both claim to be happy in their present locales. Both are by happenstance paying the same agent -- Toronto-based Don Meehan, one of the game's true power brokers -- to do their negotiating. And both are tied to Canadian franchises trying to exist in a world wallpapered in American dollars.

They both are being offered contracts which will make them the highest-paid players in club history. Yet both remain roughly $2 million apart with their teams -- Iginla is after $7.5 million per annum, the Flames have countered with $5.65. Theodore wants $6 million, the Habs are said to be anteing up $4 million. Last year, Iginla earned $1.7 million, Theodore $1.65 million.

And -- don't underestimate this for a moment -- they both have but one superstar year on the books. That shouldn't make anyone a candidate for the keys to the Rockefeller vault.

True worth can be determined only over a series of stellar seasons.

In Calgary, fans have been told what Iginla feels he's worth to the Flames. What they wonder what his clean-cut, good-guy image is worth to him. If he isn't in attendance when camp opens (although the general feeling is that Meehan, knowing he has a base to work from, estimated at $6 million, is using time as a leverage to try and squeeze as much out of the Flames as possible), he'll be the bad guy, the ungrateful guy, the greedy guy. The Iginla camp drastically misread the mood in southern Alberta. Their feeling was that given the 52-goal winger's importance to the Flames, and his spotless persona, the braying, paying populace would be yammering at management to fork over whatever it took to get him signed. It hasn't happened. Instead, most are siding with the team. Theodore, too, won't find an overwhelming amount of sympathy for his plight in his home province.

In Calgary, fans have been told what Iginla feels he's worth to the Flames. What they wonder what his clean-cut, good-guy image is worth to him.

Quite simply, the dynamics are different in Canada. American sports patrons are accustomed to holdouts, to the in-fighting over mega-dollars and the dirty politics of the "business" of the games people play for pay. In Canada, where hockey is the only true national sporting passion, fans tend to take holdouts almost as a personal affront. If, for instance, the Flames and Iginla split the difference on a contract, meaning $6.5 million U.S. a year, that'd translate into $10.4 million in Canadian take-home pay. People feel that should be more than enough for anyone.

"I do think that in some areas, larger areas with more teams, that they do become de-sensitized to things such as holdouts," says Flames' general manager Craig Button, who arrived in small-market Calgary from the from the free-spending ways of owner Tom Hicks in Dallas. "I'd say, if you check, there are more hockey holdouts than in baseball, football or basketball."

Under the current collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NHL Players Association, with unrestricted free agency set at 31, players make big bucks for years past their peak. Restricted free agency -- only Joe Sakic and Sergei Fedorov have received offers as Group IIs -- in essence, isn't free at all.

In Calgary, comparisons to the acrimony that fostered Michael Peca's year-long holdout in Buffalo -- a move also orchestrated by Meehan -- have the knee-jerk handwringers wondering about a similar tact with Iginla, but these fears make no sense whatsoever. Peca's feelings for the Sabres had been well documented; Iginla has been on nothing but good terms with the Flames.

The Habs' offer to Theodore of $4 million is a figure no Canadian has earned before -- and there've been some pretty damn good players don that jersey down through the years. That don't mean diddly to Meehan. He's doubtless arguing that Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, Curtis Joseph and Olaf Kolzig will all pocket $6 million or more this season, and his client was adjudged to be better than all of them last season, adding the Vezina to his Hart Trophy coup. But Theodore, though he may get there one day, has a long way to travel to match the consistency of Joseph, the two Cup wins of Brodeur and the Hall of Fame statistics of Roy.

Iginla is sure to become the highest-paid Flame ever, even if he caved in and took Calgary's current offer. History has shown missing training camp has had dire repercussions for players. It's impossible to miss nearly a month, the preseason tune-up games and and jump in hitting on all cylinders. For the Flames and Canadiens to be successful this season (read: qualify for the playoffs), they'll need to get off to a promising start. No Iginla or Theodore, and the chances of that dwindle considerably.

Meehan has been referred to as "an 11th-hour guy," meaning he's willing to let the clock tick down to try and wrangle as much for his client as possible. Good for business. Bad for the nerves.

Iginla's worth a lot, but nothing like $7.5 million a year. Yet. Theodore just might be the next Roy, but he shouldn't be near The Master's tax bracket at the moment.

Both men, as mentioned, are content logistically. Theodore, the kid from Laval, Quebec, grew up dreaming of tending goal for the Habs. Iginla is openly thankful to the Flames for giving him the opportunity to blossom into stardom. His parents and grandparents live three hours north in St. Albert, just outside Edmonton.

If, when push comes to shove, the Flames come in at $6-$6.5 million, the Canadiens at $5-$5.5 million, the possibility -- threat? -- of either or both being on the sidelines when their teammates open camp looms. And that'd be a shame. They mean too much to the game to let that happen.

Here's hoping the game means too much to them, too.

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