Ranking the Best Redemption Stories of the 2015-16 NHL Season

"Redemption is something you have to fight for in a very personal, down-dirty way."

So says Hollywood director Joss Whedon of Avengers and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, per Goodreads.

Whedon knows a thing or two about story arcs and would likely find plenty of inspiration for his film projects in the National Hockey League this season.

Here are the best examples of players who are fighting or have fought to write their redemption stories in the hockey world this season.

Mark Giordano

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 What He Has Accomplished in 2015-16 

52 GP, 12 goals, 21 assists, 33 points

Mark Giordano is the top-scoring defenseman and third overall in scoring on the Calgary Flames.

Adversity He Has Overcome

In 2015, Mark Giordano underwent season-ending biceps surgery after being injured in late February, missing out on his team's unexpected trip to the second round of the playoffs.

Though the Flames' overall fortunes have fallen off this season, Giordano has come back strong. The 32-year-old is tied for 10th in scoring by defensemen and isn't far off his production from the two previous seasons, when he was considered to be a dark-horse candidate for the Norris Trophy. 

Giordano is judicious with his body checking, but he isn't afraid to use his body, as he showed when he laid out Nazem Kadri of the Toronto Maple Leafs en route to a 4-3 Flames win over the Leafs on Feb. 9, per Sportsnet. 

Grade on the Redemption Scale: C+

Kris Letang

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What He Has Accomplished in 2015-16 

42 GP, 9-31-40

Though he has missed 10 games this year with various injuries, Kris Letang ranks fifth in scoring among defensemen and sits in the top 40 in the entire NHL.

Adversity He Has Overcome

Letang is just 28 years old but already seems like he has suffered a lifetime's worth of health problems. He has played all 82 games just once in his career—in 2010-11—with his most serious injuries being a heart ailment that limited him to 37 games in 2013-14 and a concussion that cut short his excellent 2014-15 season seven games before the playoffs began.

So far, Letang has been able to come back from each of his injuries at full throttle. With 10 points in Pittsburgh's last six games, he has been an important catalyst in the Penguins' current push for a playoff position. 

Grade on the Redemption Scale: B-

Zack Kassian

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What He Has Accomplished in 2015-16 

11 GP, 2-2-4

After an offseason trade and a stint in the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program, Zack Kassian is back in the big leagues, seeing regular playing time with the Edmonton Oilers.

Adversity He Has Overcome

Originally chosen 13th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2009, Kassian failed to live up to his billing as an offense-minded power forward during his time with both Buffalo and with the Vancouver Canucks.

The Canucks unloaded Kassian to Montreal during the summer of 2015. His time with the Canadiens was limited to one goal in five preseason games, per NHL.com, before the truck accident that triggered his stint in rehab and his ticket out of Montreal.

The Edmonton Oilers bought low on Kassian in late December, sending then-minor league goaltender Ben Scrivens to Montreal. Since Kassian joined the Oilers organization, the big guy has shown flashes of his skill set, whether it's scoring goals or displaying his aggressiveness.

The jury is still out on whether Kassian can survive long term. It's impressive that he has even climbed back to the NHL this season.

Grade on the Redemption Scale: B

Roberto Luongo

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What He Has Accomplished in 2015-16 

42 GP, 24-13-5, .928 save percentage, 2.17 goals-against average

Two years after his inauspicious trade away from the Vancouver Canucks, veteran netminder Roberto Luongo is preparing for a playoff run with the surging Florida Panthers.

Adversity He Has Overcome

Drafted fourth overall by the New York Islanders in 1997, Luongo is now an elder statesman in the NHL at age 36. He's putting up numbers this season that rival his peak performance in 2010-11 with the Vancouver Canucks.

Luongo reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final that year and can also brag about his 2010 Olympic gold medal with Team Canada, but he was treated as an albatross by the Canucks starting in the 2012 playoffs.

After losing his starting gig first to Cory Schneider and later to Eddie Lack, Luongo was dealt back to Florida just before the 2014 trade deadline. Back in the market where he had met his wife and maintained his offseason home, Luongo thrived as the rebuilding Panthers evolved around him.

Teammate Jaromir Jagr is a redemption story in his own right, but Luongo's bounce-back season offers up real optimism for the Panthers as they try to advance past the first round for just the second time in franchise history. 

Grade on the Redemption Scale: B+

Mike Richards

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

What He Has Accomplished in 2015-16 

9 GP, 0-0-0

Mike Richards hasn't impacted the scoresheet since he joined the Washington Capitals in mid-January, but the 30-year-old is a solid veteran with plenty of playoff experience. 

Adversity He Has Overcome

Richards was a spectacular flame-out with the Los Angeles Kings—assigned to the AHL in January 2015, then arrested at the Canadian border at the end of June for possession of a controlled substance.

The Kings were allowed to void Richards' 12-year contract, which was scheduled to run until 2020. After the two sides reached a settlement in October, per the Associated Press (via CBC), Richards became an unrestricted free agent.

Richards still hasn't been charged with a crime relating to his drug incident. But he is back in hockey—with the top team in the league.

His on-ice contributions have been muted so far, but it's quite plausible that by June, the charges against Richards will be dropped or dismissed as he hoists the third Stanley Cup of his career with Washington.

A win like that would be sweet revenge for Richards after the year he's had.

Grade on the Redemption Scale: A-

Patrick Kane

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What He Has Accomplished in 2015-16 

57 GP, 32-44-76

Patrick Kane currently leads the NHL in both goals (32) and points (76). He also leads the league in power-play points (25) and is tied for third with a plus-23 rating.

Adversity He Has Overcome

Kane showed great fortitude last season when he took less than seven weeks to return after a broken left clavicle and went on to tie for the playoff scoring lead as the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup.

A sexual assault accusation disrupted the latter stages of Kane's offseason. While many cried for him to be suspended from hockey, Kane quietly took to the ice and, so far, he has put together his most impressive season in what is already a stellar pro career.

With 76 points in 57 games, Kane now leads the scoring race by a whopping 15 points and is just 12 points off his previous career high of 88, set back in 2009-10. His 32 goals are already a high water mark. Kane has scored at least 21 in each of his nine NHL seasons, including the abbreviated 48-game lockout year.

Kane has more missteps off the ice than on it during his NHL career, but he hasn't let those distractions take away from the fact that he's an extraordinary hockey player who is just hitting his prime.

Grade on the Redemption Scale: A

John Scott

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What He Has Accomplished in 2015-16 

NHL Arizona Coyotes: 11 GP, 0-1-1

AHL St. John's IceCaps: 4 GP, 0-0-0

NHL All-Star Game: 2 goals, MVP Award

What started as a joke turned into one of the most heartwarming sports stories of the year when tough guy John Scott used his fan-voted appearance at the NHL All-Star Game to show off his hockey skills and earn the MVP Award.

Adversity He Has Overcome

Scott has been a fringe NHLer for eight seasons, a 6'8", 260-pound giant who used his powers of intimidation to stay in the game. Along the way, he picked up 542 penalty minutes in 285 games, according to HockeyDB.

When the NHL announced its intention to turn the 2016 All-Star Game into a three-on-three tournament, fans defied the league's intentions by voting Scott, who has none of the characteristics of a typical All-Star, to be captain of the Pacific Division team.

After his coronation, Scott was traded to the Montreal Canadiens organization and assigned to their minor league team. Regardless, the agreeable pugilist refused to give up his All-Star position, according to his self-penned piece in the Players' Tribune.

Though the NHL tried to remove Scott from the proceedings, it could not have asked for a better All-Star rep in Nashville. Scott—and his nine-months-pregnant wife and his mother—were gracious, enthusiastic and accessible throughout the weekend, and the people's champion also scored two impressive goals to help his Pacific Division team win the first-ever three-on-three title.

After his wild weekend, Scott joined his wife to witness the birth of his new twin girls before reporting for duty with the St. John's IceCaps of the AHL.

Scott may never make it back to the NHL, but if the All-Star Game was his last hurrah, the 33-year-old definitely went out on his own terms. His grace under pressure during his 15 minutes of fame should also open doors for his post-hockey career, whether it's motivational speaking, a book deal or broadcasting.

Grade on the Redemption Scale: A+

All stats courtesy of NHL.com, current through Feb. 9 games.