NEWARK — Patrik Elias isn’t quite sure what comes next in his post-hockey playing career, but in an effort to find out, he’s joined the Devils for the last week of the season.

Maybe it’s an internship or maybe he’s just auditing coaching 101, but the Devils' career leader in points, goals and assists will be a sixth coach of sorts throughout the final week of play with the hopes of finding out whether or not coaching is something he might want to pursue.

“Any time you step on the ice, even with these guys, you’re right in it. It just kind of sucks you in,” Elias said Saturday afternoon before the Devils hosted the St. Louis Blues on Fan Appreciation Night. “It takes a lot of work, a lot of time and commitment. It takes a lot of time away from your family but at the same time, I really enjoyed it.”

The conversations began with Elias and John Hynes after the former Devils’ great began preparing to work as an assistant coach for his native Czech team in the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championships. Working with the Under-20 team provided a glimpse into coaching and the time commitment it requires. It was enough to intrigue Elias and Hynes extended an open invitation to join the staff for a few games to see what the daily life of a coach in the National Hockey League looks like.

About a month ago, Elias called Hynes to take him up on the offer and the two formulated a plan to have him come serve in an active coaching role for the final five games of the season.

“From our perspective, he was such a great player, almost like a coach on the ice, so to get his perspective on some of the systems, how we do things and evaluations of some of the guys we have,” Hynes said. “I think it will be a great fit for information exchange for him to get a lot of out of it, but also for our players and our team to get a lot of it too.”

Elias is going to keep the same hours as the coaches, significantly more hours than he was used to as a player, he’s going to be involved in all meetings, he’ll be on the ice during practice and work with video after practice. During games, he’ll have specific assignments with certain players to watch from up above in the pressbox.

In between periods, he’ll be in the locker room with the team to try and report back as to what he’s seeing. Elias will also be on the road with the team through their final two games against Carolina and Florida so he can experience the grind from a coach's perspective.

“One of the biggest learning situations for him is going to be seeing what the course of a week is like,” Hynes said. “That’s why he’s not just here for a weekend, he’s here for a week.”

Elias said he’s careful to not overstep his boundaries. He’s just a shadow, ready with a notebook to try and absorb as much information as possible. But Hynes wants to encourage him to use his voice and his knowledge of the game.

“I’m sure he’s going to offer some great feedback for us,” Hynes said. “I’m a big believer in having different opinions and he’s not totally attached to the situations, so it’s going to be good to get feedback from him on what he sees in all aspects.”

While Elias may not be ready to run a power play meeting just yet he’s confident that he can bring the same intangible qualities to the game he brought as a player: A drive for success.

“When I was a player I was passionate as a player and you’ve got to love what you do,” Elias said. “I did that with the young guys, with the U20 national team. Hopefully, some of the guys can say that I helped them out with some things, like how to approach the game and how to get better.”