Ellett was drafted 75th overall by the
Winnipeg Jets in the
1982 NHL entry draft and then played the next two seasons at
Bowling Green State University. In Ellett's second (and final) season at BGSU (1983–84), the Falcons won the NCAA Championship. When Ellett joined the Jets in 1984, he was a solid defenseman right away, scoring 38 points and garnering a +20 plus/minus rating. He became part of a solid Jets nucleus in the mid-to-late 80's that had the misfortune of playing in the same division as the dominant
Edmonton Oilers and
Calgary Flames. As a result, Ellett did not garner very much late-round playoff experience with the Jets. Ellett's most notable moment with the Jets came in the 1990 Smythe Division semi-final series against the Edmonton Oilers during the
1990 Stanley Cup Playoffs. On April 10, at the
Winnipeg Arena, with the game tied at 2–2 in the second overtime period, Dave Ellett scored a power play goal to give the Jets the win and a 3–1 series lead. Despite losing the next 3 games to the Oilers, this goal is considered the most memorable goal in the Jets' NHL history. In the middle of the
1990–91 season, Ellett was traded to the
Toronto Maple Leafs with
Paul Fenton for
Ed Olczyk and
Mark Osborne. It was with the Leafs that Ellett transitioned from an offensive defenceman into a solid two-way rearguard. He was an integral part to the Leafs clubs of
1993 and
1994 that reached the Conference Finals. Ellett was traded to the
New Jersey Devils with
Doug Gilmour in the
1996–97 season, but only played with the club until the end of the season. He then played with the
Boston Bruins for two years and then the
St. Louis Blues for a year before retiring. He played his 1000th career game with Boston on March 1, 1998, against the
New York Islanders. He retired in 2000. In 1989 Ellett was the subject of controversy when he decided to play for Team Canada in the World Championships.
Bob Johnson, coach of the American team, complained that Ellett had to play for the United States because of his birthplace and because he attended Team USA's training camp for the
1987 Canada Cup. Ellett was allowed to play for Team Canada because he never actually played for the USA internationally. Ellett was part of one of
Wayne Gretzky's most-remembered goals. In Game 7 of the 1993 Campbell Conference Finals between the Leafs and the
Los Angeles Kings, Gretzky scored a
hat trick. He scored his third goal from behind the net by banking it off Ellett's skate and past the Toronto goaltender,
Félix Potvin. Ellett returned the favor by scoring for Toronto with just over a minute remaining, but Los Angeles hung on to win the game and go to the Stanley Cup Finals against
Montreal. ==Awards and honours==