Welcome to LWOS Hockey’s summer series, Call to the Hall, where we take a look at the next great player from each NHL franchise to get called to the Hockey Hall of Fame. There are a few caveats, the player must be active, and must have played 300 games (or 150 for goaltenders) with the franchise.
Check out the previous Call to the Hall articles HERE.
Call to the Hall: New Jersey Devils
For a team that started out as a “Mickey Mouse” club in the 1980’s, the Devils sure turned things around in the 90’s and early 2000’s, taking home three Stanley Cups and sending multiple players to the Hockey Hall of Fame. First and foremost on most lists are Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens, two of the premier defensemen of their era, and of course the soon-to-be inducted Martin Brodeur, while a number of other Hall of Famers made stops in Jersey during their careers, including Joe Niewendyk, Brendan Shanahan, and Doug Gilmour.
However, since their last Cup in 2003, the Devils have only made it past the second round of the playoffs once, missing entirely the last three seasons, so it’s not surprising that New Jersey hasn’t seen much Hall of Fame talent pass through in the interim. There are, however, a few names that do jump out. One would of course be Ilya Kovalchuk, the deadly sniper who “retired” to play in the KHL, who can’t make this list by virtue of games played. Another is Zach Parise, the now Minnesota Wild forward and a six-time 30-goal scorer. However, both of those players pale in comparison to what Patrik Elias has been able to accomplish in his career.
Patrik Elias
The 39-year-old Czech was drafted by the Devils 51st overall all the way back in 1994. He would make the jump to North America for the 1995-96 season and spend most of the next two years working on his game with the Devils AHL affiliate, the Albany River Rats. In his first full NHL season, Elias recorded 18 goals and 37 points in 74 games with the Devils to finish third in Calder Trophy voting behind Sergei Samsonov and Mattias Ohlund in 1997-98.
That was a great launching point for Elias, who would see his offensive output increase in each of the following three seasons. In his sophomore year, Elias put up 50 points. but he broke out in a big way in 1999-00, netting 35 goals and 72 points for the Devils in the regular season. He would lead New Jersey in scoring not only during the regular season, but also during the playoffs, where his 20 points (including a league-leading 13 assists) in 23 games were instrumental in helping the Devils win the Stanley Cup, the first of two in Elias’ career.
Elias would follow up that season with a simply monster year in 2000-01, when he scored 40 goals and 96 points to finish third in league scoring (behind two guys named Jaromir Jagr and Joe Sakic). He also netted three hattricks that season and was named to the NHL’s First All-Star Team. He would lead the Devils back to the final, scoring 23 points in 25 post-season games, though they would ultimately come up short in Game 7 against the Colorado Avalanche.
By this point Elias had firmly established himself as a team leader (he has been a long-time alternate captain on the team, and served in the captain role briefly from 2006 to 2007) , and one of the best offensive left wingers in the NHL. Despite what some would call a down year in 2002-03, when Elias scored 28 goals and 57 points, he still lead the deeply defensive Devils in scoring and helped them to their second Stanley Cup in four seasons.
Following the 2003 Cup, Elias would remain a productive player for many years. In 2003-04 he would push his offensive totals back up where they belonged, finishing in the top ten in the NHL in goals (38) and points (81). Following the 2005 lockout, Elias saw a small dip in his numbers, though he still regularly chipped in – since 2005-06 he scored 20 or more goals five times, and averaged at least 0.74 points per game in all but one (2014-15) season.
Age has, however, finally caught up to Elias. After a solid 2013-14 season with 18 goals and 53 points in only 65 games, Elias saw his numbers regress significantly in 2014-15. He hit new career-lows with 13 goals (for comparison, his second-lowest total, 16 goals, were scored in only 38 games in 2005-06) and 34 points in 69 games. The career Devil will suit up for the club again next season, though it’s clear he’s at the end of the line.
In total Elias has amassed 406 goals and 1017 points in 1224 career NHL games, good for a 0.83 career points per game average – numbers right on the edge of Hall of Fame consideration. His playoff numbers, 125 points (46th all-time, just one point behind Maurice Richard) in 162 games, are also impressive. His lack of individual hardward will hamper his case, though playing in four NHL All-Star Games and winning two Stanley Cups in four final appearances certainly helps.
His international resume will also be a big asset for his claim to enshrinement in the Hall, as he’s represented his native Czech Republic in many international competitions, taking home bronze at the 1998 and 2011 IIHF World Championships and adding another bronze medal at the Olympics in 2006. In total, Elias has scored 18 goals and 33 points in 40 senior-level international matches.
When it comes to the Hall of Fame debate, Elias is one of those players who is always right there on the bubble, with many arguing both for an against his potential future induction. Though his numbers aren’t of the eye-popping variety that have propelled many players into the Hall of Fame, the fact is that Elias was, for a time, the premier player at his position in the league, as well as an integral part of two Stanley Cup championships. Add in more than 1000 career points, a handful of trips to the NHL All-Star Game, and an extensive international resume, it’s not hard to see why many consider him Hall-worthy.
There is one thing on which there can be no debate: Elias is unquestionably the greatest Devils forward of all-time… which is just the type of intangible that might sway some Hall voters.
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