Patrik Elias Autograph Card

I'm not the biggest New York Rangers fan by a long shot - I have much respect for Henrik Lundqvist, Brad Richards, Ryan McDonagh and John Tortorella - but I hate the New Jersey Devils a whole lot more, mainly because I think Martin Brodeur is the most over-rated goalie of all time, but also because their trap-won Stanley Cups have taken a lot of luster off of the trophy's worth.

I'm glad the Rangers have taken the series' lead with a 3-0 victory last night.

This, despite my admiration for Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise and Patrik Elias...

So when I saw this Elias card on Ebay for $1.99, I just couldn't pass it up.

Elias is a winner, as can be attested with a Cup, sure, but also three bronze medals (2006 Olympics, 1998 and 2001 World Championships). The reason why he doesn't have more World medals is because the Devils are pretty much always in the playoff picture, so he's busy in the NHL post-season while the Czech National Team gets going.

He is a monster under pressure, going almost a point-per-game in NHL playoffs (40-77-117 in 138 games, including a 16-points-in-9-games season in 2005-06 and two 20-point postseasons) and international play (16-14-30 in 34 games, including two 9-point performances at the Worlds), and has captained both the Devils and the Czech team.

He has also posted a team record 96-point season in 2000-01, and remains a scoring threat to this very day.

This is card #81 in In The Game's 1998-99 Be A Player set - the signed insert version.