Mike Coppinger

USA TODAY

NEWARK, N.J. — The New Jersey Devils' practice facility was barren — you could hear the shave of the ice with each skate, and the clang of the puck off the post. After all, the team didn't practice until noon on this cold and rainy November day. But one familiar face was on the ice in the midst of his weekday morning routine: Patrik Elias.

The longtime Devil who has built a Hall of Fame case usually skates by himself — but sometimes with development/skills coach Pertti Hasanen — as he attempts to return from knee cartilage replacement surgery at age 40. Elias doesn’t have a contract, and he doesn’t have a roster spot.

What he does still have is his familiar No. 26 stall in the Devils locker room — the same one that’s been there since he debuted in 1995. Some day, that number will be retired and hang from the Prudential Center rafters, joining the likes of Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Ken Daneyko.

Elias and his 1,240 career regular-season games aren't ready for that day, though.

He said he believes progress in his surgically repaired right knee has plateaued, but he's not willing to give up. Elias would like to have a decision on this season by early February, but he is open to skating through the summer to attempt to return next season.

"I feel good one week; next week I'm ready to jump on ice, then the next week I don’t feel so good and I'm ready to call it quits, so it’s hard," Elias said. "It’s about me, it’s about if I feel good enough to jump on the ice and enjoy the game. That’s it. You want to be successful and have fun, and fun is winning.

Can Henrik Lundqvist emerge from another slump?

Best and worst from first half of NHL season

Five reasons Wild can win the Stanley Cup

“At the same time, you have to be honest with yourself. The game is changing and has changed so much and you have to know when the time is right for you to just go and do other things.”

On this day, Hasanen assisted Elias through a battery of drills. Instead of a live goalie, Elias tried to beat a plastic barrier standing tall in net. On a few occasions, the stand-in proved a formidable foe, and Elias’ shots sailed above the crossbar.

“I can’t shoot anymore!” he wailed.

The Devils’ franchise leader in goals (408), assists (617) and points (1,025) knows he can still play at a high level — if his right knee allows it, that is. Before he underwent major knee surgery in May, Elias competed in the final game of the 2015-16 regular season — and perhaps the final game of his career.

All he did was what he’s always done: produce. He scored one goal and added two assists. It was proof that even at this advanced age, he’s a player who can help a team — especially the Devils, who find themselves at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division.

“I see him almost every day at the rink,” Devils general manager Ray Shero told USA TODAY Sports over the phone. “We talk about anything except his knee. If he brings it up to me, then I know it's something he wants to talk about.”

When that knee feels great for two consecutive weeks, Elias said he will push himself harder in practice and then contact Shero to discuss working out with the club on a professional tryout.

The forward is grateful the organization has made it “unbelievably easy" for him to be involved and feel like he’s still a part of the team. And he still attends home games in Newark, N.J., with the players’ families.

Just don't expect Elias to replicate the longevity of countryman and former teammate Jaromir Jagr, the 44-year-old who plays for the Florida Panthers.

"You can look at guys that are 30 years old and they already are retired. My situation is my situation," he said. "Obviously it’s pretty special to be at that age and play at that level. He’s lucky enough that his body is different and he doesn’t have any issues, so that's a good thing. For some guys, the motivation goes away after a while. But I still have it, I still love being out there, I still enjoy it."

If the two-time Stanley Cup champion is bracing for the end, he doesn’t show any emotion. Elias admitted that it could be six to nine months from surgery until his knee is 100%. He's now in month eight.

“It’s not going to be an easy transition," Elias said of retirement. "But I’m OK with it that it’s going to happen. I’m kind of careless in that way, and my wife will tell you I’m careless in other ways.”

Even if Elias had no designs on playing again, he insists the surgery was necessary to live an active retirement. He also has two young daughters to keep up with.

Elias doesn’t need the money. His earnings have totaled over $71 million since 1999, according to Spotrac, and he owns real estate investments in Hoboken, the square mile city staring across the Hudson River from Manhattan.

Rather, Elias is adopting the mentality of rockers such as the Rolling Stones: Play till you no longer can. Because, as former teammate Sergei Brylin told him: “Once you’re done, you’re going to miss it — the camaraderie, the game.”

Elias knows that all too well. He already misses it, especially when he sees his teammates jump on the ice as he skates off each morning.

“Who knows where he's going to play, if he can play,” Shero said. “And maybe you go in a different direction. No pressure for him to come back to play.

“We're not so good that I can say I don't want Patrik Elias. He has great puck skills, still. He's been such a great player his entire career because of his hockey sense and compete level. He has a lot of that still."

Elias was drafted by New Jersey with the 51st overall pick in 1994. The loyalty is his most proud accomplishment.

“We're doing everything we can to help him out to make a decision, but he's going to be the one to tell me. I’m not badgering him," Shero said. "I don’t see him playing for another team, and that's just me. I consider Patrik a lifelong Devil.”

The same could be said for Brodeur, the greatest player in Devils history, though he left New Jersey after 20 years to play with the St. Louis Blues at age 42.

But Elias isn't ready for that.

“Playing with another team hasn’t crossed my mind,” said Elias. “It’s hard to say. If it comes to the point I’m healthy enough, and I think that I can play, I can help someone, and this team won't have space or room for me, I might consider maybe going somewhere else.”

Another option for Elias is a front-office role, something Shero and Elias have discussed. But it's too soon for that. Elias is still grinding. He still has the desire to show up at the rink every day, go through the arduous task of assembling all the necessary equipment on his frame, and jump onto the ice for a hard workout.

“I’m kind of 50-50,” he said. “I’m ready for anything. (If I retire), it’s totally fine. I enjoy just coming here and training. It is what it is. I’m ready for both different scenarios: if I get to play eventually or if I’m done.

“I have to look at it positively like I’ve played long enough. I’m ready for it. I’m good for it.”