Patrik Elias had a very successful career with the New Jersey Devils.
Selected 51st overall in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, Elias played all 1,240 NHL games in a Devils uniform and helped lead the team to two of its three Stanley Cups. Although he didn’t appear in any games for the Devils last season, Elias officially announced his retirement near the end of the season and the team honoured him with one final lap around the ice.
On Saturday night the Devils honoured Elias once again with one of the greatest honours in sports as they retired his No. 26 and raised it to the rafters inside the Prudential Center.
It was a packed house for Elias’ special night and many of his former teammates were in attendance for the ceremony, including Scott Stevens, Colin White, Kevin Weekes, Jason Arnott, Martin Brodeur, Petr Sykora, Ken Daneyko and Scott Niedermayer, to name a few.
While the ceremony took place, the current Devils watched from the bench and they were all rocking their own No. 26 Elias jerseys, which they also wore during the pre-game warm-ups.
As for the Devils’ game jerseys, they will feature a special commemorative patch to remember Elias’ big night.
As a way to say thank-you to the Elias family, the Devils added No. 26 to their four family seats and let them know there’s always a spot there for them.
Elias joins Ken Daneyko, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Martin Brodeur in the rafters as the only five players to have their numbers retired by the Devils organization.
The 41-year-old owns many franchise records including goals (408), assists (617), points (1,025), power play goals (113), game-winning goals (80) and shots (3,287).
(H/T Instagram/njdevils)
