Patrik Elias wasn't happy to see the Devils lose defenseman Paul Martin to free agency, but he has a suggestion on how to fill that hole.

Tomas Kaberle.

Elias would like to see the Devils trade for the Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman.

"Personally, I wouldn't be the only one to love to play with that guy," Elias said. "I've played with him on the (Czech) national team. He's just tremendous. It's unbelievable how he can control the game. He contributes offensively.

"I think he'd be a wonderful addition to our team. Toronto's been talking for three years that they want to trade him. Whatever team gets him, it will be a great addition."

In passing, Elias also said he wouldn't mind seeing former linemate Petr Sykora invited for a tryout at some point. Elias, Sykora and Jason Arnott once formed the Devils' A Line.

"He should get a tryout. He needs to get healthy first," Elias said of Sykora, who underwent groin surgery this past spring.

Elias recently had dinner with Arnott in Hoboken. The big center was acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators.

"He's excited to be back in this organization," Elias said. "With his presence-- a big body and a big shot-- I hope he's going to be a help to us."

Elias was at the Prudential Center working out today. He watched Travis Zajac take some power skating lessons.

This summer Elias has remained in New Jersey because his wife, Petra, is pregnant and due in November.

He watched the World Cup, has followed the NHL free agency market and was surprised to see Martin sign with the Penguins.

"I thought he would go to the West Coast somewhere," Elias said. "Who knows if he was getting offers from other teams? He felt like Pittsburgh is a great team and a good fit for him.

"You don't want to see your top man going to your rival. They (the Pens) lost a big man in (Sergei) Gonchar."

General manager Lou Lamoriello says he still has a few trades in mind. One could be for Kaberle.

"I'm not sure. I think a lot will be decided by whatever is going to happen with Kovy (Ilya Kovalchuk)," Elias suggested. "If he's going to be here or he's not going to be here, either way there might be some reason for moves. The (salary) cap plays a role in that."

Elias spoke of the need for teams to have a puck-moving defenseman and pointed out that the Devils have lost three in recent years.

"Losing Paul and losing Rafi (Brian Rafalski) and Nieder (Scott Niedermayer) years back," he said. "(Henrik) Tallinder is used to playing on the first defensive unit a little bit, the first pair. He's a guy who controls games and the puck.

"Andy Greene did a great job last year. He stepped it up big time and I think proved to himself that he could do that to a certain extent. He'll get better, no question about it, as years go on. It was great to see. Everybody saw the potential in him and he's been steady for the last couple of years, but I'd still like to see maybe one of the top guys here.

"But who is out there? Lou knows best what we need, but sometimes it's not easy to fill those roles. You understand that."

Elias hated to see Martin leave.

"He's not a flashy guy because of his style. He's tall and kind of awkward looking on the ice, not skating smoothly or flashy and not scoring a lot of goals," Elias said. "But I love playing with him. He understands the game so well. If you talk to him about different plays, he gets it right away.

"Defensively he was tremendous, even though he doesn't hit and doesn't run around. He played a lot of minutes and played against top guys all the time. You don't have to run around and play overly physical to be effective."

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Elias weighed in on the Ilya Kovalchuk free agency watch.

"Obviously he's taking his time," Elias said. "Maybe he is showing a new trend for upcoming years. Why not take a little time and figure out what is the right team if you are in that position? I don't know if you want to drag it out for this long.

"When you go into free agency you should have an idea of what you want, where you want to go, the pros and cons on each team. That should make it an easy decision. But I can speak for my experience. It just happened so quick. It was a very stressful situation. Sometimes you wish you'd take more time and think it over. Make sure you're doing everything right. I'm happy, obviously, with my decision."

It doesn't seem like Kovalchuk wants to stay in New Jersey.

"It's his choice. It's his right," Elias said. "Who knows? Only he knows the reasons why he hasn't signed anywhere yet. You can't really judge anybody unless you know everything that's going on. He'll make his decision when it's right for him. Sometimes it's not just hockey reasons.

"I stayed here four years ago because we were winning and we always have a chance to play in the playoffs."

He hasn't spoken to Kovalchuk.

"I texted him a couple of days ago," he said. "But no response. I think he's getting a lot of those. I just said I heard he was coming back and I hoped it was true."

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Elias said he has been playing tennis 3-4 times a week and biking a lot. He may start skating in the next couple of weeks.

He recalled his first scrimmage as a Devils rookie, playing on a line with John MacLean.

"I played left wing with Neal Broten an Johnny Mac," Elias said with a smile.

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Rod Pelley's contract,