The Hockey Hall of Fame announced its Class for 2025 on Tuesday, and while there was justice for one former New Jersey Devils player, Alexander Mogilny, who received his call to the Hall, another former player, Patrik Elias, is still waiting for his call to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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Elias retired from the NHL in 2016, playing his final game with the Devils, where he recorded three points (a goal and two assists). He has been eligible for induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame since 2019. And with Patrik Elias, there was little debate surrounding the fact that he was not a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But most agreed he was a Hall of Famer.
With guys like Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Daniel Alfredsson, and others getting in before Elias, it is a little bit strange to see a player of his calibre left out. But Elias isn’t the only one. Keith Tkachuk, Theo Fleury, Mike Richter, and Rod Brind’Amour, to name a few, are guys who are not in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
That trio of Swedes, Alfredsson, Henrik, and Daniel Sedin, never won a Stanley Cup. All three made a Stanley Cup Final appearance, but never won. Elias has two Stanley Cups in four final appearances.
In 1240 games played all with the Devils in the regular season, Elias recorded 1.025 points (408 goals and 617 assists). To compare, Henrik Sedin recorded 1,068 points (240 goals, 828 assists) in 1,276 regular-season games, and Daniel Sedin recorded 1,038 points (391 goals, 647 assists) in 1,306 regular-season games. Daniel Alfredsson recorded 1,157 points (444 goals and 713 assists) in 1,246 regular-season games. Yet the latter three are in, and Elias is not.
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And if you look at his numbers, having played 1000 games and scored 1000 points with one franchise is impressive. There is a chance Elias could have put up more numbers if he were playing in a more offence-minded system. And playing in New Jersey in a defence-first system might be holding him back. But in today’s day and age, where two-way hockey is marvelled, Elias was one of the best.
“I thought he was the most underrated player when he played,” former teammate John Madden said. “He didn’t get the recognition on the defensive side of the puck. He was as good as any winger/center, depending on what he was playing. Elite, two-way hockey player putting up 70-80 points a year, but also defending very well. That was the kind of mindset in the Devils organization back then.”
In 162 Stanley Cup Playoff games, Elias recorded 125 points (45 goals and 80 assists), including scoring clutch goals in the Devils run to the Stanley Cup in 2000. That season, he put up 20 points (seven goals and 13 assists) in 23 games.
In Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final, Patrik Elias scored the winning goal to send the Devils back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in franchise history. That win by New Jersey marked the first time a team in the expansion era came back to win a series in the Conference Final, trailing 3-1.
Later on, Elias set up Jason Arnott‘s double overtime winner in Game 6 of the 2000 Stanley Cup Final to help the Devils record their second of three Stanley Cup Championships. The A-Line of Arnott, Elias, and Petr Sykora was one of the best the NHL saw during the 1999-2002 period. Even though the Devils lost in 2001 to the Colorado Avalanche, Elias recorded 23 points (nine goals and 14 assists) in 25 games.
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Elias always stepped up when the Devils needed a goal. Coming out of the lockout in 2005-06, Elias finished the regular season with points in eight of his final nine games, and that momentum carried into the playoffs, where he recorded 16 points (six goals and 10 assists). He was a model of consistency for the Devils offensively, but he knew how to play two-way hockey. His best statistical season came in 2000-01, when he recorded 96 points (40 goals and 56 assists) in 82 games.
Elias’s international resume is also impressive. He was on the Czechia Olympic team four times, winning a bronze medal in the 2006 Turin Olympics. That year, the Sedins and Alfredsson won gold with Sweden. He also won two bronze medals at the World Championships with Czechia in 1998 and 2011.
The Devils have seen Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Martin Brodeur, and now Alexander Mogilny go into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Niedermayer, Stevens, Brodeur, and Elias have their numbers retired by the Devils franchise. Please don’t hold the system he played in against him. He played his entire career with the Devils, recording more than 1000 points.
Patrik Elias deserves induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
