How about a little NHL folklore?

Remember when certain players first entered the NHL? It was once written that Wayne Gretzky couldn't survive in a "man's league". Mario Lemieux supposedly wouldn't make it because he was too selfish and aloof. The point here is this: which NHL players have been characterized as being something upon first entering the league, only to have their reputation soften and their stature become greater? In other words, which players are the by-products of the "folklore" effect (meaning that the more people saw them play, the more the negative comments subsided and the players were viewed in a different light)?