This needs to be broken down into 2 sections.
Do you respect the player?
Do you respect the person?
Given none of us know, on a personal level, these players, I'd throw the 2nd question completely out the window. I mean, I guess some could/would argue that if a player is dirty, crosses the line between competitiveness and intent to injure, then he could be an ******* in his life away from hockey, but I don't know if we can assume such hypotheticals.
Players I have never, and will never respect.
Jagr
-One way player who almost never rose to the occasion, no matter where he was playing. Scored A LOT of empty points. Never even attempted to adapt to the game as it changed throughout his career. Came off as a *****ebag so many times, who played the game on his terms as opposed to somebody like Yzerman who completely overhauled his game for the betterment of the team as he slowed down. I'm not sure Jagr was ever that invested into hockey. At least not for the team aspects.
Coffey
-He rode the coattails of legendary players most of his career. Gretzky and Mario are the obvious names to point out. Like Jagr, completely inept defensively, and worse yet he personally admitted he didn't play defense. Calling him a defensemen is a joke because he either didn't try or care to do the most important thing any blueliner can do, and that's defend pucks from going into your own net. I've heard people talk about Bobby Orr when it comes to Coffey's style but that's an insult to Orr, because the latter was phenomenal defensively and used in all situations. Coffey, a defensemen mind you, routinely did vulture circles (thanks for
@VanIslander for that gem) OUTSIDE his own blue line, waiting for a puck to be taken by one of his own poor teammates who had to work extra hard because a blueliner was 50-70 feet away, skating in an oval.
Players who I used to not respect, but do now.
Ovechkin
-Never liked him, mainly because he's a stud on a big rival but the lack of respect came from him largely ignoring anything that resembled defensive effort for many years. Like Coffey, you could routinely find him disengaged, up near the blueline, waiting for a breakout, provided by one of the other 4 guys on the ice with him. I also couldn't stand his over the top celebrations for things that are very routine in hockey. With that being said, I've seen him mature as a hockey player and even though I will never "like" him, I have come to respect the hell out of 8 because I do think (unlike Jagr) he really loves game and cares about winning.