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Devils forward Patrik Elias has 913 career points, including 365 goals.

(Photo by Saed Hindash/The Star-Ledger)

During his last stint as Devils coach, Jacques Lemaire unflinchingly called Patrik Elias the team’s best player during that doomed 2010-11 season. No one disagreed.

Until Ilya Kovalchuk scores another 700 points and wins a Stanley Cup with the Devils, or John MacLean comes out of retirement and reclaims some of his scoring records, Elias stands as the greatest forward in franchise history.

But will he be a Hall of Famer?

"I don’t think there is any doubt he’s a Hall of Fame player," coach Pete DeBoer said. "It’s a great luxury to have him on the ice and in the dressing room. He thinks like a coach and he has a world-class player’s skills. When you’re building a hockey player, you can’t ask for much more than that."

If you are on the committee that elects players to the Hall of Fame, you might.

"If he gets in, I should be in," said former NHL center Butch Goring, now an Islanders color commentator. "Our stats are the same, and I have four Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe Trophy."

Goring’s 888 career points include 375 goals and 513 assists.

On the strength of a fast start that has Elias fourth in the league with 15 assists and the Devils again among the Eastern Conference’s elite, he enters Thursday night's game against the Washington Capitals with 365 goals, 548 assists and 913 career points. Elias’ career numbers are the most in Devils history. He’s won two Stanley Cups.

"Does Elias have a chance? Yes," said ex-NHL center Peter Mahovlich, now a scout for the Florida Panthers. "The last half of last year his game went up and this year, from what I’ve seen, he’s picked it up even another step.

"So if he continues on that path for another three or four years, he’s going to have huge numbers. If he has a couple of dominant years, that will get him in. Once you get to 1,000 points and numbers like that ..."

Elias, in the last year of his contract, will be 37 on April 13. If he scores another 40 points this season — he has 19 through the Devils’ first 16 games — the 1,000-point milestone will be within reach next season, wherever he plays.

"It’s tough. Forwards are really a different breed. Stats are the most important thing when they choose players for the Hall of Fame," said future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur. "You look at Shanny (Brendan Shanahan), and his stats and his track record and he’s not there yet.

"You would think that Patrik would get there. He’s young, compared to me anyway. He’s not done, so he should get recognized. It’s an elite group and I think he deserves to be in it, but it’s a touchy matter. Especially for that position compared to defensemen or goalies."

Each member of the 18-person nomination committee, composed of Hall of Famers and media members, can nominate one player. Once nominated, a player must receive 75 percent or greater approval of the selection committee to gain entry into the Hall of Fame.

"I wonder what the criteria is to get in. It’s not stats, because Bob Gainey is in," Hall of Fame defenseman Denis Potvin pointed out.

Gainey’s career stats are 239 goals and 263 assists (502 points). He also won five Cups as a player and one Conn Smythe.

"My guideline would be: Was he tough to play against? Did you not want to play against him?" Potvin said. "Wayne Gretzky wasn’t big, but you didn’t want to play against him. It’s like Marty with goalies. Does he make you take finer shots to a smaller area? Yes.

Patrik Elias is a career-long Devil who has won two Stanley Cups with the team, which may boost his chances for the Hall of Fame.

"And I don’t think Stanley Cups carry as much weight as they should."

Kovalchuk agrees.

"I don’t know what the factors are for the people who choose who is in the Hall of Fame. To me, Patty has won Cups and that is most important," Kovalchuk said. "Sure he’s a Hall of Famer. He’s won, he has almost a thousand points and he’s played on the same team all his life. So, if you ask me, I would put him in the Hall of Fame for sure."

Some would point out that Elias missed the entire 2004-05 season and part of this one because of lockouts. That’s possibly 45 goals and 85 points.

He only played 38 games in 2005-06 because of hepatitis A, and his offensive stats were undoubtedly held down by playing on some Devils teams that concentrated on a low-scoring defensive style.

"It shouldn’t be judged on just stats. It’s what you meant for your team throughout your career. Your presence," Elias suggested. "Different teams have different styles, so sometimes your stats reflect that.

"Of course it would be special to be in the Hall of Fame. I don’t know if it’s ever going to happen, though."

Looking only at stats doesn’t tell the full story, DeBoer said.

"Absolutely not. There is a reason why winning follows certain players around. It’s not an accident and it’s not situational," DeBoer said. "When you are around Patrik every day you see not only why he has won, but why he’s been a key part of this organization winning over the last decade."

No one would argue that. But is he a Hall of Famer?

"It’s not for me to say. I don’t like going there because I think there are guys in the Hall of Fame who shouldn’t be there," Mahovlich said.

It has always been a subject for debating. Cam Neely (694 points, 395 goals, no Stanley Cups) is in. Pat Verbeek (1,063 points, 522 goals, one Cup) is not. Neither is Claude Lemieux, with four Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe Trophy.

There is room for debate, but will there be room for Elias in the Hall of Fame?

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