CURTAIN CALL
Devils legend Elias skates one last time
It could not have been the final lap envisioned by Patrik Elias, who, after all, skated the Stanley Cup victory lap twice within his first six seasons.
But as closing acts go, Elias’ final spin on the ice during warmups preceding the Devils’ home finale loss Saturday against the Islanders wasn’t a bad way at all to go for the franchise icon.
“I enjoyed all of it,” the 40-year-old career Devil, who officially announced his retirement last week after having missed the entire season with knee issues, said. “It’s funny, when I was ready to go out there I was getting a little nervous and getting some butterflies, like it was my first NHL game and not this. “It was a weird feeling.” The Devils not only had Elias, rather than starting goaltender Keith Kinkaid, lead them onto the ice for the pre-game skate but they honored No. 26 by having him take a couple of spins with the ice to himself before they followed his lead.
“That’s the kind of caring and camaraderie you have between guys on a team,” said Elias, who wore the alternate captain’s ‘A’ on his the left side of his sweater. “That’s part of what I’m going to miss.”
Elias’ No. 26 will be retired next season, his sweater raised to the roof alongside fellow franchise icons Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Ken Daneyko. He is unarguably the greatest forward in team history, competing his career with 405 goals, 617 assists and 1.025 points in 1,240 games.
And even as he skated with his team for one final time, he wanted to score another one. And he did, putting the puck past Corey Schneider off a choreographed scrum around the net before receiving a rousing ovation from the fans who packed the lower deck at the end at which the Devils skated.
“That was fun, even at the end, to get that last one in on Schneids,” Elias said. “It was exciting.”
Elias allowed that he felt well enough physically to continue his career, but not at the level to which he has been accustomed and not over the grind of an 82game season.
He will return to his na- tive Czech Republic with his wife and two daughters and spend some time with friends and family as he contemplates his future that may or may not include hockey.
“I’m so privileged to have played this long in the NHL where I have the opportunity and [financial] freedom to take time to decide what I want to do,” he had said last week upon announcing his desire to retire. “Maybe we’ll like living in Czech or maybe we will miss it here and want to move back. “We’ll see.” The warmup completed, Elias returned to the ice one more time for the ceremonial faceoff which, in a twist, he took for New Jersey against former teammate Stephen Gionta after his two daughters combined to do the puck-drop honors while accompanied by their mom. That is when Elias became emotional.
“The fans were great, it was all great,” he said. “I held it together until the end.”