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Though the late 1990s and early 2000s were known for being a defensive-minded era in the NHL (in contrast to the wide-open, high-scoring 1980s), it nevertheless still produced its share of elite offensive players. On opposite ends of North America, two European-born stars in Patrik Elias and Markus Naslund were franchise players for the New Jersey Devils and Vancouver Canucks, respectively, and each retired as the all-time franchise leader in career points (though Naslund has since been surpassed by the Sedin twins). Looking back on these two underrated and unassuming stars of the early 21st century, let us compare their careers and ask:
Who was better – Patrik Elias or Markus Naslund?
The Beginning
While Naslund was the more highly-touted prospect and had a loftier draft status, it was Elias who made the more immediate impact in the NHL after coming over from professional leagues in Europe.
A native of the Czech Republic (previously part of Czechoslovakia), Elias originally played for Poldi SONP Kladno in the Czech Extraliga before being drafted 51st overall in the second round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Devils. However, after just one NHL game in 1995-1996 and another 17 in 1996-1997, Elias did not fully make the jump to the NHL until 1997-1998 – as a rookie, he tallied 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points with a +18 +/- rating for New Jersey to finish third for the Calder Trophy.
Meanwhile, Naslund grew up in the same Swedish city that also produced Peter Forsberg and the Sedin twins, and played together with Forsberg for Modo Hockey’s junior team. After graduating on to the Modo professional team, Naslund was drafted 16th overall in the first round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins; he stayed in Sweden for a couple more seasons before making his NHL debut in 1993-1994 – in 71 games played, Naslund had a disappointing 4 goals and 7 assists for just 11 points with a -3 +/- rating.
Career Comparison
During their primes in the 2000s, Elias and Naslund were among the NHL’s elite offensive talents – on one hand, the former had a longer and more consistent period of excellence, while the latter had a shorter, but more electrifying peak in which he was arguably among the game’s top five to 10 players.
Despite playing in a defensive-minded Devils system led by goalie Martin Brodeur and defensemen Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer, Elias continued to increase his scoring, first to 50 points in 1998-1999 and then, 72 points (35 goals and 37 assists with a +16 +/- rating) in 1999-2000. As part of the “A-Line” with Jason Arnott and Petr Sykora, he improved further to 40 goals and 56 assists (both personal bests) for a career-high and franchise-record 96 points with a league-leading +45 +/- rating in 2000-2001, good for a sixth-place Hart showing for MVP and eighth for the Selke Trophy as top defensive forward. Though Elias’ numbers dipped to 61 and 57 points, respectively, over the next couple of seasons, he bounced back to 38 goals and 43 assists for 81 points and a +26 +/- rating in 2003-2004; during the subsequent lockout, he would play for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the Russian Superleague.
Upon return to NHL play, Elias would never reach the zenith of his early 2000s peak, but remained a consistently strong producer for the Devils – though he missed half of the 2005-2006 season with injury, he still averaged more than a point per game with 45 points (16 goals and 29 assists) in 38 games. As an unrestricted free agent that offseason, he verbally agreed to join the rival New York Rangers, but ultimately chose to remain in New Jersey, where he would spend the rest of his career; moreover, Elias became the Devils’ captain, replacing the retired Stevens. Following two additional strong seasons, Elias had one of his most productive seasons in years with 31 goals and 47 assists for 78 points and a +18 +/- rating in 2008-2009; notably, he surpassed John MacLean as the team’s all-time scoring leader on the same night Brodeur passed Patrick Roy for most career wins. A couple of seasons later, he replicated that 78-point effort on the strength of 26 goals and 52 assists in 2011-2012, albeit with a -8 +/- rating. By his mid-30s, Elias’ production gradually began to wane and after a 53-point season in 2013-2014, he had his worst annual point total in 2014-2015 with just 34 points in 69 games played. Finally, after just 16 games played in the 2015-2016 season at age 39, Elias announced his retirement in 2017, stepping away as New Jersey’s all-time leader in goals, assists, and points; moreover, Elias retired second all-time in career points for Czech-born players behind only the legendary Jaromir Jagr.
In contrast, Naslund did not live up to his high billing in Pittsburgh, playing just 14 games in the strike-shortened 1994-1995 season; then, despite 52 points (19 goals and 33 assists) in 66 games to start the next year, he was dealt to the Canucks for Alek Stojano. At first, it was status quo in Vancouver, as Naslund continued to be somewhat of an offensive disappointment, tallying 41 and 34 points, respectively, in his first two full seasons with the club. However, things became to improve as he posted three consecutive seasons of at least 65 points:
- 1998-1999: 36 goals and 30 assists for 66 points with a -13 +/- rating
- 1999-2000: 27 goals and 38 assists for 65 points with a -5 +/- rating
- 2000-2001: 41 goals and 34 assists for a then-career high 75 points with a -2 +/- rating; also named team captain, replacing Mark Messier
Entering his late 20s/early 30s and now playing on the “West Coast Express” line with Todd Bertuzzi and Brendan Morrison, Naslund finally fulfilled his early promise and became one of the league’s top offensive players. In 2001-2002, he had 40 goals and 50 assists for 90 points and a +22 +/- rating to finish fifth for the Hart Trophy. The following season would be a career year: with career-highs of 48 goals and 56 assists for 104 points and a +6 +/- rating, he won the Pearson Award (now known as the Lindsay Award) for most outstanding player in the regular season and finished second for the Hart to his childhood friend Forsberg. As an encore, Naslund had another top-five Hart finish in 2003-2004 with 84 points (35 goals and 49 assists) with a +24 +/- rating. During the lockout, he returned to Sweden to play for Modo alongside Forsberg and the Sedin twins, coming back to the NHL in 2005-2006 with 32 goals and 47 assists for 79 points, but a -19 +/- rating. With Bertuzzi being traded to the Florida Panthers for goalie Roberto Luongo and the Sedin twins coming into their own, Naslund’s numbers would decline annually to 60 points in 2006-2007 and then, 55 points in his last season with the Canucks in 2007-2008. As a free agent, he signed with the Rangers, but had a disappointing 24 goals and 22 assists for 46 points and a -10 +/- rating in his lone season there before hanging up his skates post the 2008-2009 campaign at age 35 (though he would play briefly for Modo again for one season).
With the advantage of five additional NHL seasons (though only 100+ games played) vs. Naslund, Elias has the career advantage in every major offensive category (goals, assists, points, and +/- rating), as well as a higher points-per-game average (0.83 vs. 0.78). However, Naslund arguably had the higher peak, as evidenced by more 30-goal seasons (6x vs. 4x, including a 4-to-1 edge in 40-goal seasons) and more 80-point seasons (3x vs. 2x, including a 100-point campaign). Additionally, the Swede earned more All-Star Game selections (5 to 4) and has the only major piece of individual hardware between them in a Pearson. Despite Naslund’s brilliance in his prime, his relatively low career totals likely leave him on the outside looking in for the Hall of Fame, while Elias remains a borderline candidate.
Regular Season Statistics
| Patrik Elias | Player | Markus Naslund |
| 20 (1995-2016) | Seasons | 15 (1993-2009) |
| 1,240 | Games Played | 1,117 |
| 408 | Goals | 395 |
| 617 | Assists | 474 |
| 1,025 | Points | 869 |
| +172 | +/- | +6 |
| 4x | All-Star Games | 5x |
| – | Hart Trophies | – |
| – | Ross Trophies | – |
| 2x | Stanley Cups | – |
| – | Conn Smythes | – |
| – | Other Awards | 1x Pearson |
| – | Hall of Fame Induction | – |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
Between the two franchise players, Elias was by far more successful in the postseason as part of the turn-of-the-century New Jersey dynasty that won multiple Stanley Cups.
In spending his entire career with the Devils, Elias was a near-annual fixture in the playoffs (14x). Notably, his greatest team successes came in the early 2000s with four total Finals trips and a pair of Stanley Cups:
- 2000: beat the Mike Modano, Ed Belfour, Sergei Zubov, and Brett Hull-led Dallas Stars in six games; tallied 7 goals and a playoff-high 13 assists for 20 points for a playoff-leading +9 +/-
- 2001: looking to repeat, but fell to a star-studded Colorado Avalanche team led by the likes of Roy, Forsberg, Joe Sakic, and Ray Bourque in the full seven games; Elias was even better with 9 goals and 14 assists for 23 points with a +11 +/- rating
- 2003: beat an Anaheim Ducks team led by Paul Kariya in seven games; put up 5 goals and 8 assists for 13 points and a +5 +/- rating
- 2012: fell to the Los Angeles Kings in six games; Elias had 5 goals and 3 assists for 8 points and a -3 +/- rating
On the other hand, Naslund was a 6x playoff participant (5x Canucks, 1x Rangers), but did not come close to a Stanley Cup. Individually, his best postseason run came in his 2002-2003 career year, as he put up 5 goals and 9 assists for 14 points with a -6 +/- rating.
Internationally, both Elias and Naslund were lineup fixtures for the Czech Republic and Sweden, respectively. The former won a bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy and a pair of bronzes at the World Championships; meanwhile, though the latter did not medal at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City and was not part of Sweden’s gold medal-winning team in 2006 due to injury, he did earn a silver medal and two bronze medals at various World Championships.
Playoff Statistics
| Patrik Elias | Player | Markus Naslund |
| 162 | Games Played | 52 |
| 45 | Goals | 14 |
| 80 | Assists | 22 |
| 125 | Points | 36 |
| +16 | +/- | -7 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; whereas Elias was a relatively consistent strong offensive producer for nearly 20 years, Naslund followed the archetypal career trajectory of early struggles, followed by a brilliant prime, and eventual decline. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Patrik Elias | Player | Markus Naslund |
| 1999-2004, 2006-2009, 2010-2012 | Decade of Dominance | 1995-1996, 1998-2004, 2005-2008 |
| 780 | Games Played | 796 |
| 289 | Goals | 330 |
| 420 | Assists | 403 |
| 709 | Points | 733 |
| +125 | +/- | +29 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
A decade of dominance is probably the convergence point between Elias’ long-term greatness and Naslund’s dominant zenith – the duo have very similar numbers over their 10 best seasons, as evidenced by nearly identical per-game scoring rates (0.91 points per game for Elias vs. 0.92 for Naslund).
My Thoughts
The NHL careers of Patrik Elias and Markus Naslund are a study in contrasts between consistent excellence vs. peak brilliance. On one hand, outside of his 96-point season, Elias was usually the Devils’ best forward, though only the third or fourth-best overall player on the team (behind aforementioned Hall of Famers Brodeur, Stevens, and Niedermayer); on the other hand, for a stretch of roughly three years, Naslund was one of the league’s best players, period, but was otherwise an average to good player. Ultimately, I think Elias’ combination of elite and sustained play outweighs Naslund’s higher zenith, but shorter longevity; as to the Hall of Fame, I believe Naslund falls short with fewer than 1,000 career points and not being a transcendent-level player (e.g. like his friend Forsberg), whereas Elias accomplished just enough during his lengthy NHL playing days to warrant induction.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Patrik Elias
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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