Patrik Elias

Patrik Eliáš ( Czech pronunciation:  [ˈpatrɪk ˈɛlɪjaːʃ], born 13 April 1976) is a Czech former professional hockey winger who played his entire NHL career with the New Jersey Devils.

Eliáš is the franchise's all-time leader in points, goals, and assists, and he holds the franchise record for the most points in a season (96) and the most career game-winning goals (79). Elias has won the Stanley Cup twice with the Devils, one in 2000, and another in 2003.

Playing career
Eliáš was drafted by the New Jersey Devils 51st overall (2nd round) in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.

As part of the A Line with Petr Sýkora and Jason Arnott, he helped lead the team to the 1999–2000 Stanley Cup championship. He assisted on Arnott's Cup-clinching goal in double overtime in Game 6 at Dallas. The following year he scored a team record 96 points in the regular season, third best in the league. He also played a key role in helping New Jersey win the Stanley Cup in 2002–03.

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he played hockey in Russia, where he contracted Hepatitis A from the food he ate while there. His bout with the disease severely weakened him, resulting in a weight loss of 30 pounds and being confined to a bed for 4 weeks. It kept him out of NHL action until after the lockout was resumed.

Three months into the 2005–06 season, he made his first appearance of the season on January 3, 2006, against the Florida Panthers, resuming his role as an alternate captain (replacing Alexander Mogilny). He picked up where he left off, scoring eight points in his first four games and helping the Devils win his first nine games back with the team. Paired with Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez to form the "EGG Line", Eliáš helped the team instrument a historic comeback and win the Atlantic Division title, despite being 19 points out of first place when he returned in January. In the first game of the 2006 playoffs against the New York Rangers, he became the 10th player to score six points in an NHL playoff game, with two goals and four assists. Eliáš' 2006 postseason campaign was spectacular, even though the Devils were eliminated by eventual Cup champions, Carolina, in the second round. Eliáš scored 6 goals and added 10 assists for an impressive 16 points in just 9 games.

He was named the Devils new captain on October 5, 2006, becoming the seventh captain in team history. The previous captain of the Devils was Canadian born defenceman Scott Stevens, now retired. He is also the first European born captain in the history of the franchise.

At the start of the 2007–08 season, Eliáš was stripped of the captaincy by new coach Brent Sutter. The Devils named Jamie Langenbrunner captain on December 5, 2007.

Sutter later placed Eliáš on a top scoring line which consisted of Dainius Zubrus and Brian Gionta. Eliáš is also known to work well with Devils superstar Zach Parise, with whom he occasionally plays with on "heroes line" and frequently plays with on the power-play unit.

On March 17, 2009, Eliáš became the New Jersey Devils' all-time leading scorer by recording his 702nd regular season point, an assist on Brian Gionta's shorthanded goal. Gionta's goal was the game-winner in a 3-2 win over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks, giving the edge for Martin Brodeur's record-breaking 552nd win as a goaltender to pass Patrick Roy, who held the former record at 551 wins. Chants of "Pa-trik E-li-as" were heard as Devils' PA announcer Kevin Clark confirmed to the crowd that Eliáš had broken John MacLean's record. Eliáš was the second star of the night, only behind Brodeur.

Eliáš was the winner of the 2009 Golden Hockey Stick as the world's best Czech hockey player, ending Jaromir Jagr's four-year streak. He scored his 300th career goal on 12 December 2009, against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Despite a weak first half by the Devils during the 2010-11 season, Eliáš was selected to be the Devils sole representative at the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina. This was his third All-Star appearance, and he was eventually selected by Team Staal in the first-ever NHL All-Star "fantasy draft." On 19 February 2011, Eliáš recorded the 800th point of his career with his third assist of the game against the. At the conclusion of the season, on April 1st, Eliáš scored his eighth career hat trick, coming against the Philadelphia Flyers.

In the following 2011-12 season, Eliáš scored two goals (347, 348) against the Montreal Canadiens to tie, then pass John MacLean as the leading goal scorer for the Devils on 17 December 2011. Eliáš played his 1,000th NHL game on 6 January 2012, against the Florida Panthers. In the game, he scored a goal and recorded two assists in a 5–2 victory.

On 27 January 2013, Eliáš Recorded his 900th career point with a goal and two assists against the Montreal Canadiens. On 6 January 2015, Eliáš became the 82nd player in NHL history to recorded 1,000 career points in a 4–1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. He scored one goal and had two assists. A month later, on 6 February, Eliáš scored his 400th NHL goal, becoming the 91st player in the league's history to do so, in the Devils' 4–1 home win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

After several months of deciding whether or not to return to NHL play for the Devils in the 2016-17 season, Eliáš announced his retirement from professional hockey on March 31st 2017.

International play
Eliáš played his first game in the national squad in 1998, and has played 40 times for the national team, score 20 goals (as of end of season 2010/2011). He was selected as the Captain of the Czech Republic for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

Personal life
Eliáš married Petra Volakova, also a native Czech, in the 2007 off-season. Together they have one child, a daughter named Sophia Gabriella, born on 27 November 2010.

Records

 * New Jersey Devils record for career points (1025).
 * New Jersey Devils record for career goals (408).
 * New Jersey Devils record for career assists (617).
 * New Jersey Devils all-time leader in playoff goals (45), assists (80), and points (125).
 * New Jersey Devils record for most points in one season (96).
 * New Jersey Devils record for most points in a playoff season (23).
 * New Jersey Devils record for career game-winning goals (79).
 * New Jersey Devils record for career overtime goals (16).
 * Most overtime goals in a season (4).
 * New Jersey Devils record for career hat tricks (8).
 * New Jersey Devils record for career shots on goal (3,201).
 * New Jersey Devils record for career power play goals (110).
 * Eliáš is the only NHL player to be awarded two penalty shots in overtime. Both occurred in separate games versus the New York Islanders, and in both cases, Eliáš missed the penalty shot.

Awards

 * 1997–98: NHL All-Rookie team
 * 1999–00: Stanley Cup champion, New Jersey Devils
 * 1999–00: NHL All-Star Game participant
 * 2000–01: NHL First All-Star team
 * 2000–01: NHL Bud Light Plus/Minus Award (shared with Joe Sakic)
 * 2001–02: NHL All-Star Game participant
 * 2002–03: Stanley Cup champion, New Jersey Devils
 * 2006: Olympic Bronze medal, Czech Republic
 * 2009, 2012: Golden Hockey Stick
 * 2010–11: NHL All-Star Game participant
 * 2011: World championship Bronze medal, Czech Republic
 * 2014–15: NHL All-Star Game participant.

International play
Eliáš played his first game in the national squad in 1998, and has played 20 times for the national team