The NHL 2002 - 2003 Season Preview begins with a look at several players who have something to prove. This list could be a long one, including everyone on the Rangers and everyone on the Flyers. Instead, here are ten high-profile hockey players, each one getting set for a season that could define the rest of his NHL career.
1. Jaromir Jagr, Capitals: A Fresh Challenge
At 30 years old, Jagr surely has a few NHL All Star selections and scoring titles left to claim. But for the first time in several years, the pack is gaining on him. Younger hockey players like Jarome Iginla and Todd Bertuzzi are challenging his status as the NHL's oracle of offense. Is this the year Jagr reasserts his supremacy? Can he stay healthy? Will he stay motivated?
2. Curtis Joseph, Red Wings: Careful What You Wish For
He plays his best under pressure, which is a good thing because no hockey player will be under a brighter spotlight this season. The story on Joseph is that his teams have never been good enough to take full advantage of his great goaltending, so he is still in search of a Stanley Cup after 13 seasons. Now he joins a defending champion that some are calling one of the best NHL teams ever.
3. Paul Kariya, Mighty Ducks: Treading Water
An elite talent in his prime. So why is he coming off his worst season ever (57 points)? Okay, playing for an NHL bottom feeder had something to do with it. But with Adam Oates, Petr Sykora and a healthy Steve Rucchin, the Ducks become much stronger on the attack. Look for Kariya to rebound with 80-90 points. If he doesn't, you have to wonder if he is still among the world's top hockey players.
4. Ed Belfour, Maple Leafs: A Goalie Scorned
Apparently convinced that his best-before date was long past, the Dallas Stars cut him loose this summer. Belfour vowed to prove them wrong. He gets his chance in hockey-mad Toronto, where the natives are pining for their first Stanley Cup in 36 years. It's a pressure cooker, especially at playoff time. Will Ed's prickly temprament get the better of him? And what about that aging body?
5. Jason Arnott, Stars: Out of Excuses
During the New Jersey Devils drive to the 2000 Stanley Cup, he appeared to be emerging as the dominant NHL centreman he was projected to be. Then he went back to being a good but not-so-dominant 55-point guy. Arnott is about to turn 28. He has a new team and a new contract. He might have to play on the wing, but he will have talented and highly motivated linemates. It's now or never.
6. Patrick Stefan, Thrashers: Number One Blues
Everyone expects too much too soon from a number one draft pick, and Stefan has had injury problems. But 79 points in 197 career games is a bust any way you cut it. He's 22 years old and going into his fourth NHL season. Last year's rookie sensations, Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk, lifted all the pressure from his shoulders. So is this guy ever going to be a better than average hockey player?
7. Theoren Fleury, Blackhawks: The Pot Simmers
Given his recent troubles - substance abuse and unspecified family problems - no one should presume to judge Fleury. Still, other athletes have faced serious problems without throwing public tantrums or attacking mascots. Chicago is not the most forgiving of hockey towns, so it's up to him to stare down the personal demons. If he can, the 'Hawks have got themselves a steal of a deal.
8. Jeff Friesen, Devils: Waning Prodigy
Given every opportunity he could want, this guy failed to break through with two Western Conference teams. Now he's in the East, where defensemen snack on speedy left wingers who lack confidence. He's been in the NHL eight years, so it's almost time to forget about him as a hockey player with great scoring potential. Still, Markus Naslund was a late-blooming left winger. Why not Friesen?
9. Pierre Turgeon, Stars: Slippery Wizard
When this guy is on, he can bend the game to his will. He was on during the 2001 playoffs, prompting Dallas to sign him for six million a year. But Turgeon scored just 47 points last season, which plenty of NHL players can do for one-third the money. To help him out, the Stars have signed his old St. Louis linemate, Scott Young. Turgeon has bounced back before. Time to do it again.
10. Derian Hatcher, Stars: Incomplete
Make no mistake, he is a top-four defenseman on a good team. But not so long ago it looked like he might become a real force, the kind of guy who towers over the game. Hatcher has stalled recently, even playing his way off the American Olympic team in the early days of last season. This year he either renews his case for All Star status or settles into the second tier of NHL defensemen.
