I would say Lemieux is the most physically blessed player of all time. He was blessed with great speed, awesome stickhandling, a blazing shot, great vision and hockey sense, and all in a 6'4", 200-plus pound frame. Sadly, his commitment to the game, especially in his early years, couldn't match his physical gifts. I could go on about his lack of commitment to conditioning (which may be a root to his back problems), some of his comments about the game early in his career (anyone remember "It's a garage league" in 1992), and his perceived preference of golf. (In a late 1980s THN Yearbook, one of the headlines they said they wanted to write was "I like hockey more than I like golf: Mario Lemieux").
The Mario we've seen since the comeback is a Mario dedicated to the game. I think fatherhood, and the opportunity to have his children watch him play, has changed him, for the better. However, he's still one of the top five players to ever play the game (I'd say No. 4, after Orr, Howe and Gretzky), and he has a resume that few can match.