Beginning his career with Holmalunds IF in the late 1990s, he went on to play professionally in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, France, England, and Turkey before retiring at Örgryte IS in 2017.

Despite not scoring as many goals for the club as was expected, he was the playmaker and creative spark of the Brøndby team in the 2004–05 Superliga season, playing mainly as the free-roaming forward behind the sole striker in manager Michael Laudrup's 4–3–3 formation.

In his two seasons at Brøndby, Elmander scored 22 goals in 58 Danish Superliga games, attracting the attention of several clubs throughout Europe.

The season was very successful, with Elmander helping lead Toulouse to a third-place finish and a berth in the qualifying rounds of UEFA Champions League.

[10] From December 2008 to September 2009, Elmander went on a nine-month goal drought, which ended during the League Cup fixture against West Ham United as he scored in extra-time.

His first home goals of the season came against Newcastle United, giving him a joint lead as top scorer in the Premier League.

[16] He debuted on the second week of the Süper Lig season, coming on in the 61st minute and scored his first goal in a 3–1 home win over Samsunspor on 18 September.

Due to his great performance, Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim changed the team's formation to a 4–4–2, allowing Elmander to play together with fellow striker Milan Baroš simultaneously.

[18] Elmander failed to impress during his loan spell at Norwich, though he did win the hearts of many fans with his hard-working performances and eagerness to play.

[citation needed] Elmander spent his last season as a professional footballer at Örgryte, scoring 5 goals in 25 appearances in all competitions.

[21] Elmander was married on 27 December 2007 to highschool sweetheart Amanda Calvin in a lavish ceremony in her home town of Hemsjö, Sweden.