Given his unparalleled jet-propulsion speed, knack for the spectacular and undeniable on-ice charisma, it's a given that Paul Kariya is a singular star.

Figuratively.

	After a sluggish start, Paul Kariya has picked up the scoring pace.

And now, once more, literally as well.

Paul Kariya -- ever quiet, ever cautious -- is saying all the right things, again: That he wants to stay in Anaheim. That he's determined to see the Ducks through to being a contender. That he feels the franchise is headed in the right direction.

Privately, though, he must wonder.

The rest of us certainly do.

As arguably the game's most dynamic individual suffered through a career-tying 10-game goal-less streak after scoring once on opening night, the issue of his perpetual happiness near the perpetually Happiest Place on Earth became a topic of speculation once again. Particularly in Canada, where such dramas are more of a day-to-day interest.

"It's been tough," was all Kariya would say after finally ending his scoring drought Halloween in a 4-2 loss at home to the San Jose Sharks. "Obviously when I'm not scoring I'm not doing my job. That's going to wear on you after a while."

This is by any measuring stick a crucial season for the franchise. With all the Emilio Estevez, feel-good freshness dissipated through a string of forgettable seasons, it wouldn't be surprising if the bean counters at Disney couldn't wait to peddle the franchise.

Wild Wing dropping out of the ceiling, laser lights and an onslaught of visuals simply won't cut it for Anaheim fans anymore. They've wised up. The honeymoon period is over. They want to see results. The six smallest "announced" crowds in Anaheim's short, undistinguished history have come this season, in the club's nine home appearances. After two season-ticket drops of 15 percent the last couple of years, the base is now well under 10,000.

"There's no mystery or trick," general manager Pierre Gauthier said last year. "It's like that in every market. If you win, the fans show up -- and that's fair."

Bingo! The problem has been detected, so why haven't drastic steps been taken to address and alleviate it?

The Ducks clearly lack the fanatical local following enjoyed by their state rivals, the Sharks, which allowed San Jose such a long leeway before ownership had to make improvements to the team.

Excitement at The Pond is at a nadir. For the books, a crowd of 9,639 showed up for a 3-3 tie Wednesday against the astounding Flames, but there might've been, oh, 6,000 people in the building. Now Flames-Ducks is no one's idea of Bird-Magic, McEnroe-Connors or Ali-Frazier, but Anaheim had strung together wins for the first time this season, Kariya had battled out of his funk and hardly anyone cared. The danger is obvious, and ominous.

And figuring into all of this is the fact that Kariya, forced once again to piggyback the franchise on his own with the trading of sidekick Teemu Selanne for the final 12 games of the '00-01 season, becomes a restricted free agent next summer.

Another dreadful, disheartening winter and Kariya's patience and loyalty could be ready to implode.

The 'free' on a restricted free agent in hockey is a misnomer if ever there was one, given the existing team's right to match any offer from outside. But if ever there was one player some high rolling NHL owner might throw his wallet full of credit cards at, it's Paul Kariya. Dynamic, prolific, he's a winner stuck on a losing hockey team.

Now normally, $10 million hockey players who moan and complain about being stuck on a losing hockey team would get zero sympathy from a paying public increasingly dissatisfied with petulance, ludicrous salaries, and out-of-touch athletes. But no one -- no one -- could feel any animosity toward Kariya if he suddenly threw up his hands in frustration and ran onto Katella Avenue wailing "No Mas! No Mas!" at the top of his lungs.

Case in point: This past offseason. With Selanne traded, it was felt the purse strings would be loosened enough for the team to scout around and add a couple of high-profile free agents to the Anaheim roster. Well, they came up with defensemen Jason York, on his second tour of Duck duty, and former Sabre, former Blackhawk, former Coyote Keith Carney.

It's early on and, of course, that means hope for all. In Anaheim they're banking that Bryan Murray, who has had coaching success revitalizing the Caps and Wings, can do the same for them. Gauthier went out and landed Patrick Kjellberg and Sergei Krivokrasov to inject a bit more offence. J.S. Giguere has been solid in goal.

Kariya's back doing his job again, on a five-goals-in-four-games tear. The burning question remains: Can the Ducks do theirs well enough between now and April to keep him interested.

Still, there remains the underlying fear that unless Anaheim can hang around the playoff picture at least until season's close, if not actually crack the top eight in an increasingly competitive Western Conference, Kariya's frustration might reach a breaking point, leaving him no choice but to force Anaheim's hand.

Given his immense competitive fire and somewhat less immense physical frame, Kariya isn't likely to play until he's 40. Injuries have already plagued him. Now 27, there's probably a seven- or eight-year window for him to win a Stanley Cup.

He has more money and fame than he knows what to do with. Eventually, for them all, and especially the great ones, the ring is the thing. Kariya is a great one. He can't help but see his buddy Teemu with a real chance now in San Jose, and must at weak, unguarded moments wish the same for himself.

Maybe he's willing to hang tough until the team is sold and see what a new ownership group would be willing to commit to finally bringing a competitive club to Anaheim. But the longer that situation is not resolved, and if the Ducks continue to struggle, the more strain will be put on an already strained relationship.

Well, Kariya's back doing his job again, on a five-goals-in-four-games tear. The burning question remains: Can the Ducks do theirs well enough between now and April to keep him interested.

George Johnson of the Calgary Herald is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.