Bergen Record On Elias

[Rock]

Elias setting example as new Devils' leader

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_...32&page=5217000

Sunday, October 06, 2002

By TOM GULITTI

Staff Writer

EAST RUTHERFORD - Patrik Elias didn't want to waste any words.

A few days before the start of training camp, the Devils' left wing sat down with his new head coach for the first time. Elias wasn't thinking about impressing Pat Burns with what he had to say. He simply wanted to make his intentions clear.

Heading into his sixth NHL season, which the Devils open Thursday night in Ottawa, Patrik Elias believes his time has come - the time for him to assert himself as one of the league's dominant offensive players and shoulder the mantle that comes with that position of prominence.

"I wasn't going around it. I just said it straight out," Elias recalled. "I want to be a leader on the ice and off the ice."

Although Elias might not have known it going into Burns' office that day at South Mountain Arena, he said exactly what his coach wanted to hear.

Burns, who became the Devils' fourth head coach in less than three years in June, already knew he was inheriting a player with immense talent - speed, strength on the puck and in the corners, and terrific hands for stick handling, passing, and shooting. What Burns didn't know was what else the 26-year-old Czech had inside him and whether he was ready to make the most of it.

"If you want to be the man, then you've got to walk like the man and he's definitely done that," Burns said. "He's been open. He's been helpful. He knows what it takes to win. A lot of these young players, they maybe didn't have to be responsible for it [winning in the past], but now they have to be responsible for it."

Elias emerged as one of the NHL's premier left wings playing on the Devils' famed A-Line with Jason Arnott and Petr Sykora. But the A-Line was broken up last season and both Arnott and Sykora were traded in the last seven months, leaving Elias behind to be his own person and carry the offensive load on a team short on established goal scorers.

No Devil other than Elias (29) and center Joe Nieuwendyk (25) scored more than 17 goals last season. So, though other players will need to step up and produce for the team to regain its place among the league's elite, Elias believes he can help show them the way.

He scoffs at suggestions that he has to prove he can excel without his old linemates - "I've done it before" - but admits that he wasn't ready to handle this kind of responsibility before. Three years ago, as the Devils were beginning a season that would end with their second Stanley Cup championship, Elias was at home in the Czech Republic, embroiled in a bitter contract dispute. Even after he finally signed nearly four weeks into the season, he wasn't happy.

He had begrudgingly accepted the three-year deal Lou Lamoriello had offered because it was clear the Devils' general manager wasn't going to budge. And, at $385,000, Elias still believed he was underpaid.

As the season progressed, however, Elias recognized it wasn't doing him any good to be angry.

"I realized that it's not going to help me to not play or be [ticked] off," he said. "It took me about a year, but I learned to keep my mouth shut the last couple of years and to keep working hard and it paid off."

By the end of the 1999-2000 campaign, he had posted career highs in goals with 35 and points with 72. He capped the year by setting up Arnott's overtime Cup-winning goal in Dallas.

Elias continued to flourish the next season, setting a franchise record with 96 points in 82 games, third in the league, and scored 40 goals to earn first-team NHL All-Star status. His offensive numbers took a dip last season - 29 goals and 61 points - while the team struggled through a disappointing campaign that resulted in the A-Line being broken up, and ended with a first-round playoff loss.

Still, he led the team in scoring for the third consecutive year and firmly established himself as its go-to scorer. He was rewarded July 15 with a three-year, $14.75 million contract. Unlike with Bobby Holik the prevoius summer, the Devils avoided the often-embittering arbitration process. As a result, Elias enjoyed a peaceful summer and arrived at camp happy and geared up to have a big season.

"Now, he's able to feel good about what he's making," Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur said. "When you're young and you do so well, you always feel you should get more. Now, I think he got rewarded for all the years that he did well, and we can count on him to lead us offensively."

Elias also has sensed that, with Holik having defected to the Rangers in July and the trades of Arnott and Sykora, the team needs another leader to step forward. And he believes that, with his experience, he's ready.

"I've been through a lot the past three years and I grew. I'm pretty confident about myself and what I can do on the ice," he said. "With this team I've been through a lot and there's not too many guys that went through it the last three years. I know what it takes to win. I had a taste of winning and I want to taste it again. So I've got to help the guys. Obviously, I've got to do it first by setting a good example."

Like Jaromir Jagr, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, and Peter Forsberg, Elias wants to be the guy his team can count on to make the big play when the game is on the line. More than that, however, he wants to do whatever is needed to help the team win again.

Heading into camp, he was excited about the chance to move to center, but when that move didn't pan out, he accepted that he's needed more at left wing.

"I know what I can do on the ice, what I can accomplish," he said. "But it doesn't take one guy. It takes 23 guys on the roster to win games and to win championships."

His maturation has been noticed throughout the organization. He's not the most vocal player in the locker room, but he's gone out of his way at times to offer advice to the younger players and help out the new veterans.

"I've seen a big change," Devils captain Scott Stevens said. "That's good because he's definitely been one of our top players for the last few years. He's a key guy. He's willing to help other guys and talks to them and we need that."

"I think that with the trades that were made during the year and the players that are here and the type of players we have, I think that Patrik feels his ability to do those things is sort of recognized," Lamoriello said. "And now he feels a responsibility. This is a team. Teams win. The best players don't always win, but the best team wins and that's something Patrik has bought into."

Burns points out that Elias' off-ice leadership is only part of it. Now that he's one of the team's highest-paid players - he's third behind Brodeur and Stevens - he has to continue to play at the high level that earned him that contract.

"He's got to come forward and I want to give him that opportunity," Burns said. "I'm going to give him all the opportunities possible to become a leader on this club. This kid is a great hockey player. I've coached many games against him. I've seen the things that he can do.

"People say, 'How good is he?' Patrik Elias is as good as he wants to be. It all comes from within him, how good he wants to be."

Patrik's points

How Patrik Elias compares with other elite left wings over the previous three seasons:

Player, Team GP G A Pts

Markus Naslund, Van. 235 108 122 230

Patrik Elias, Devils 229 104 125 229

Brendan Shanahan, Det. 239 109 120 229

Luc Robitaille, Det. 234 103 109 212

Paul Kariya, Ana. 222 107 103 210

Keith Tkachuk, STL. 199 95 102 197

[NJayDevil]

Elias is Elite. Those #'s explain it all. Tied with ex-Devil Shanahan for 2nd in pts among LW's and only 1 little point behind 1st. That is an accomplishment. I think Elias is getting that other "A" with the way Burns has been talking.

[Yeah, I suck]

Elias is defietly an elite player, :cough: thanks to Arnie and Sykie :cough:.

We'll see how he does with Newy and Langer.

[insanity_gallops]

Elias is defietly an elite player, :cough: thanks to Arnie and Sykie :cough:.

Yes, he did put up impressive numbers with them -- there's no denying that. However there's also no denying that, of those 3, Elias is the one with the most talent, the greatest potential to become one of the league's top wings, and the one most feared by opposing teams. Last year his numbers slumped because he was moved from line to line with different players and couldn't really get a feel for it. After having played with Arnott and Sykora for so long, he did have great chemistry with them. But that wasn't producing goals anymore, so so there had to be a change made. And after this change was made, it's obviously going to take a little time before Elias (or any player, for that fact) can feel comfortable not playing alongside two guys with whom he was so accustomed to playing. Now, though, Elias is ready to move on.

We'll see how he does with Newy and Langer.

Elias has done well with Nieuwendyk in the short time they've been together, and Langenbrunner is more there for the grit he brings to the line rather than the offensive power. Kind of why I feel Arnott was placed on that line with Sykora and Elias to begin with, to provide a physical presence for two guys who can put the puck in the net. And, like Arnott, Langenbrunner will get better offensively and start to post higher numbers. Langenbrunner will clear some space, get the puck out of the corners to Nieuwendyk and Elias, and goals will follow.

At any rate, the long and the short of it is that Elias is ready to play without Sykora and Arnott, and he'll be productive because he's just that damn good.

[sundstrom]

Give him the A and make my jersey look acurate

[MaddDog]

Elias is defietly an elite player, :cough: thanks to Arnie and Sykie :cough:.

We'll see how he does with Newy and Langer.

I see KingDoof is up to his usual tricks.

Elias was the best player on the 'A' line, so I fail to see how he can't thrive with the other two gone.