Elias spent his entire NHL career with the New Jersey Devils, who selected him in the second round (No. 51) of the 1994 NHL Draft. He owns New Jersey's career records for goals, assists and points in the regular-season and Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he's second to Jaromir Jagr in points scored by an NHL player born in the Czech Republic.
After playing with Kladno in the Czech Extraliga during the 1994-95 season, Elias came to North America in the fall of 1995 and excelled with Albany of the American Hockey League, earning a chance to make his NHL debut on Dec. 7, 1995. He spent most of 1996-97 with Albany, though he played 17 games with New Jersey and scored his first NHL goal against the Boston Bruins on Dec. 12, 1996.
Elias spent his entire NHL career with the New Jersey Devils, who selected him in the second round (No. 51) of the 1994 NHL Draft. He owns New Jersey's career records for goals, assists and points in the regular-season and Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he's second to Jaromir Jagr in points scored by an NHL player born in the Czech Republic.
After playing with Kladno in the Czech Extraliga during the 1994-95 season, Elias came to North America in the fall of 1995 and excelled with Albany of the American Hockey League, earning a chance to make his NHL debut on Dec. 7, 1995. He spent most of 1996-97 with Albany, though he played 17 games with New Jersey and scored his first NHL goal against the Boston Bruins on Dec. 12, 1996.
He became an NHL regular in 1997-98 and had a breakout season in 1999-2000, scoring 35 goals and 72 points. He followed that with seven goals and 20 points in 23 playoff games; the final point was the primary assist on Jason Arnott's Cup-winning goal in double overtime of Game 6 in the Final against the Dallas Stars.
Elias was voted an NHL First-Team All-Star in 2000-01, when he had an NHL career-high 40 goals, set a Devils single-season record with 96 points and led the NHL with a plus-45 rating. He also scored nine goals and finished with 23 points in 25 playoff games. However, the Devils came up one win short of repeating as champions, losing Game 7 of the Cup Final to the Colorado Avalanche.
Two years later, Elias played a key role in New Jersey's run to the Cup in 2003, finishing with seven points (three goals, four assists) in a seven-game victory against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the Final.
There were no more championships in Elias' career, though he and the Devils advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012, losing to the Los Angeles Kings in six games. But by then, the personal milestones had started to pile up.
He became the Devils' all-time leading scorer on March 17, 2009, earning his 702nd point, an assist on Brian Gionta's game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks, though the milestone was overshadowed by goalie Martin Brodeur setting an NHL record with his 552nd win. Elias scored his 347th and 348th career goals against the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 17, 2011, to tie and then pass John MacLean for the most in Devils history, and became the first Devils player to reach 1,000 points when he had a goal and two assists against the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 6, 2015. One month later he scored his 400th NHL goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Elias announced his retirement on March 31, 2017, finishing his career with 1,025 points (408 goals 617 assists) in 1,240 NHL games, and 125 points (45 goals, 80 assists) in 162 playoff games. The Devils retired his No. 26 on Feb. 24, 2018.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- EJC-A All-Star Team (1994)
- NHL All-Rookie Team (1998)
- NHL First All-Star Team (2001)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (2000, 2002, 2011, 2015)
- Signed as a free agent by Znojmo (CzRep), September 6, 2004.
- Signed as a free agent by Magnitogorsk (Russia), December 9, 2004.
