Patrick Elias: Where Does He Rank Among the NJ Devils Greats?

[msweet]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/979161-patrick-elias-where-does-he-rank-among-the-nj-devils-greats

Hard to believe, but Patrik Elias has been a full-time member of the New Jersey Devils for almost 15 years now.In that time frame he's won two Stanley Cups, played in nearly 1,000 NHL games and recorded nearly 350 goals, 500 assists and 850 points.

He's also New Jersey's all-time franchise scoring leader, including its formative years in Kansas City and Colorado, and at age 35 isn't exactly finished just yet.

[Quinn01]

Hes been one of the most consistent players I feel. He brings 110% to the ice each game and is always calm and collected. Glad he is with the Devils.

[Steven M.]

Easily one of my favorites ever. I think we're all kinda lucky and might take him for granted... Will we ever see as gifted an offensive talent who is also so disciplined defensively again? Also, it's easy to forget all the time he missed with his illness. He's been so consistent for years, and is a Devil through and through.

[sundstrom]

well - considering that he's going to be the first forward to get his # retired here, i'd say he sits with the greats pretty well. stevens and marty are 1 and 2 but neidermayer and elias duke it out for 3 and 4. daneyko is #5.

[DevsMan84]

Def top 5 or 6 all-time at the moment.

[Dadds3424]

well - considering that he's going to be the first forward to get his # retired here, i'd say he sits with the greats pretty well. stevens and marty are 1 and 2 but neidermayer and elias duke it out for 3 and 4. daneyko is #5.

I agree with this 100%

['7']

1. Stevens

2. Brodeur

3. Elias

[GoArmySports]

1. Stevens

2. Brodeur

3. Elias

1. Brodeur

1A. Stevens

2. Elias

Edited December 22, 2011 by GoArmySports

['7']

1. Brodeur

1A. Stevens

2. Elias

meh...can't argue with that either

[aylbert]

I think he's the 3rd greatest Devil to date and will be the last of the retired jerseys for a while (assuming Brodeur goes up before him)... I made a list of my top 20; but to be honest, just kinda rattled them off and rearranged quickly so I am sure I may have missed someone or will question my order a bit later. For one, I'm not sure if I put Burke or Terreri in the top 20... if they do, obviously near the bottom. Parise will rise up the more he is here.

To be honest I wouldn't have included Daneyko on the retired jersey list... he would have made an excellent ring of honor, etc.

1) Martin Brodeur

2) Scott Stevens

3) Patrik Elias

4) Scott Niedermayer

5) Ken Daneyko

------------------

6) John MacLean

7) Bruce Driver

8) Bobby Holik

9) Zach Parise

10) John Madden

11) Scott Gomez -only as a Devil, obviously.

12) Sergei Brylin

13) Jay Pandolfo

14) Randy McKay

15) Brian Rafalski

16) Kirk Muller

17) Tommy Albelin

18) Jamie Langenbrunner

19) Travis Zajac

20) Aaoron Broten

Edited December 22, 2011 by aylbert

[Chuck the Duck]

Elias is one of the most under-rated Devils of all time (along with Pat Verbeek - my favorite player growing up). When taking all things into consideration, including pure skill, career achievements, and the player's impact upon this franchise's history, my top 5 would be:

1. Brodeur

2. Stevens

3. Niedermayer

4. Elias

5. Daneyko

For Stevens and Brodeur, I can make an argument either way as to who should be # 1. Stevens solidified and legitimized the franchise unlike any other player, but Brodeur was the piece that put them over the top. It's no coincidence that his gaining the starting job in 1994 was the beginning of the Devils dynasty (1994-2004). For me, he's # 1, with Elias a respectable #4. He definitely deserves to have his number in the rafters one day.

[sundstrom]

I think he's the 3rd greatest Devil to date and will be the last of the retired jerseys for a while (assuming Brodeur goes up before him)... I made a list of my top 20; but to be honest, just kinda rattled them off and rearranged quickly so I am sure I may have missed someone or will question my order a bit later. For one, I'm not sure if I put Burke or Terreri in the top 20... if they do, obviously near the bottom. Parise will rise up the more he is here.

To be honest I wouldn't have included Daneyko on the retired jersey list... he would have made an excellent ring of honor, etc.

1) Martin Brodeur

2) Scott Stevens

3) Patrik Elias

4) Scott Niedermayer

5) Ken Daneyko

------------------

6) John MacLean

7) Bruce Driver

8) Bobby Holik

9) Zach Parise

10) John Madden

11) Scott Gomez -only as a Devil, obviously.

12) Sergei Brylin

13) Jay Pandolfo

14) Randy McKay

15) Brian Rafalski

16) Kirk Muller

17) Tommy Albelin

18) Jamie Langenbrunner

19) Travis Zajac

20) Aaoron Broten

i think muller might be a tad low. i agree that i think burke and/or terreri belong on the list - certainly before albelin. its conceivable verbeek should be on this list but its still pretty comprehensive. obviously, kovalchuk will get on there eventually and make his way up. i think pando and broten get moved down/out.

[EdgeControl]

I have him at number 4 behind Marty Stevens and Kovy, LOL

[Random Poster]

It's too hard to "rank" players because they all played such a vital role and were all unique in terms of contribution and impact. That's why it is difficult to "rank" Stevens, Brodeur and Niedermayer, Elias, Daneyko, et al. Best bet is to just leave it as they all relied on one another as a team to be great as that was the Devils way.

Here's my choices for the immediate future. It doesn't have to be all about stats, Cups and names but impact each individual had in the organization.

RETRIED NUMBERS:

Patrik Elias, Martin Brodeur.

RING OF HONOR:

(Automatics): Sergei Brylin, John Maclean, Kirk Muller, Claude Lemieux.

(Debatables): Randy McKay, Bobby Holik, John Madden, Mel Bridgman, Jay Pandolfo, Bruce Driver, Chico Resch, Stephane Richer, Patrik Sundstrom, Chris Terreri, Pat Verbeek, Brian Rafalski, Scott Gomez, Slava Fetisov, Aaron Broten

Edited December 22, 2011 by SJP20

[Devil Dan 56]

RETRIED NUMBERS:

Patrik Elias, Martin Brodeur.

RING OF HONOR:

(Automatics): Sergei Brylin, John Maclean, Kirk Muller, Claude Lemieux.

(Debatables): Randy McKay, Bobby Holik, John Madden, Mel Bridgman, Jay Pandolfo, Bruce Driver, Chico Resch, Stephane Richer, Patrik Sundstrom, Chris Terreri, Pat Verbeek, Brian Rafalski, Scott Gomez, Slava Fetisov, Aaron Broten

I agree pretty much 100% with this. I'd love the Devils to finally have some sort of ring of honor.

[Quinn01]

It's too hard to "rank" players because they all played such a vital role and were all unique in terms of contribution and impact. That's why it is difficult to "rank" Stevens, Brodeur and Niedermayer, Elias, Daneyko, et al. Best bet is to just leave it as they all relied on one another as a team to be great as that was the Devils way.

Here's my choices for the immediate future. It doesn't have to be all about stats, Cups and names but impact each individual had in the organization.

RETRIED NUMBERS:

Patrik Elias, Martin Brodeur.

RING OF HONOR:

(Automatics): Sergei Brylin, John Maclean, Kirk Muller, Claude Lemieux.

(Debatables): Randy McKay, Bobby Holik, John Madden, Mel Bridgman, Jay Pandolfo, Bruce Driver, Chico Resch, Stephane Richer, Patrik Sundstrom, Chris Terreri, Pat Verbeek, Brian Rafalski, Scott Gomez, Slava Fetisov, Aaron Broten

I agree with this with the addition of Zajac and Gionta to the Debatable list. I also felt that Nieds should have been on that list. I feel like retiring his number was more of a "Quick! Lets retire someone....uhhh Scott! He just retired anyway!" move.

Edited December 22, 2011 by Quinn01

[CarpathianForest]

John Madden and Jay Pandolfo are definites for ring of honor, but that's just because I like them so much.

[Beck27]

I think he's the 3rd greatest Devil to date and will be the last of the retired jerseys for a while (assuming Brodeur goes up before him)... I made a list of my top 20; but to be honest, just kinda rattled them off and rearranged quickly so I am sure I may have missed someone or will question my order a bit later. For one, I'm not sure if I put Burke or Terreri in the top 20... if they do, obviously near the bottom. Parise will rise up the more he is here.

To be honest I wouldn't have included Daneyko on the retired jersey list... he would have made an excellent ring of honor, etc.

1) Martin Brodeur

2) Scott Stevens

3) Patrik Elias

4) Scott Niedermayer

5) Ken Daneyko

------------------

6) John MacLean

7) Bruce Driver

8) Bobby Holik

9) Zach Parise

10) John Madden

11) Scott Gomez -only as a Devil, obviously.

12) Sergei Brylin

13) Jay Pandolfo

14) Randy McKay

15) Brian Rafalski

16) Kirk Muller

17) Tommy Albelin

18) Jamie Langenbrunner

19) Travis Zajac

20) Aaoron Broten

Out of curiosity...is Lemieux an oversight, or is he intentionally off your list?

[MantaRay]

well - considering that he's going to be the first forward to get his # retired here, i'd say he sits with the greats pretty well. stevens and marty are 1 and 2 but neidermayer and elias duke it out for 3 and 4. daneyko is #5.

I agree with this. He is easily the forward this franchise has ever had. I would vote #3

Edited December 22, 2011 by MantaRay

[MantaRay]

It's too hard to "rank" players because they all played such a vital role and were all unique in terms of contribution and impact. That's why it is difficult to "rank" Stevens, Brodeur and Niedermayer, Elias, Daneyko, et al. Best bet is to just leave it as they all relied on one another as a team to be great as that was the Devils way.

Here's my choices for the immediate future. It doesn't have to be all about stats, Cups and names but impact each individual had in the organization.

RETRIED NUMBERS:

Patrik Elias, Martin Brodeur.

RING OF HONOR:

(Automatics): Sergei Brylin, John Maclean, Kirk Muller, Claude Lemieux.

(Debatables): Randy McKay, Bobby Holik, John Madden, Mel Bridgman, Jay Pandolfo, Bruce Driver, Chico Resch, Stephane Richer, Patrik Sundstrom, Chris Terreri, Pat Verbeek, Brian Rafalski, Scott Gomez, Slava Fetisov, Aaron Broten

Mel Bridgemen???? Don Lever before him and honorable mention to John Weinsink

[Ollie McKraut]

Elias is the best ever.

[Random Poster]

Mel Bridgemen???? Don Lever before him and honorable mention to John Weinsink

Bridgman was a leader and vet influnce who bought a winning attitude and respect on some awful 80's teams. He was the team's first "true" captain and was a terrific mentor to young players like Muller (who would succeed him as captain) as well as Verbeek, Broten and Maclean.

[aylbert]

Out of curiosity...is Lemieux an oversight, or is he intentionally off your list?

Verbeek was on the edge for me... Lemieux was left off on purpose only because of his length of tenure. I know him as a Devil, but I don't really see him as a protypical Devil. Also, he spent so much time with the Habs, Avs and Yotes that he doesn't really have a single team own him.

[CarpathianForest]

Can't believe you're leaving this guy out:

[DaneykoIsGod]

well - considering that he's going to be the first forward to get his # retired here, i'd say he sits with the greats pretty well. stevens and marty are 1 and 2 but neidermayer and elias duke it out for 3 and 4. daneyko is #5.