American ice hockey player
Ice hockey player
John Clark LeClair
(born July 5, 1969) is an American former professional
ice hockey
player. He played 16 seasons in the
National Hockey League
(NHL) with the
Montreal Canadiens
,
Philadelphia Flyers
, and
Pittsburgh Penguins
from 1991 to 2006. With the Flyers, LeClair became the first American-born player to score 50 goals in three consecutive NHL seasons while playing on the
Legion of Doom
line with
Eric Lindros
and
Mikael Renberg
. LeClair was a member of the Montreal Canadiens'
Stanley Cup
winning team in 1993.
Early life
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]
LeClair was born on July 5, 1969, in
St. Albans, Vermont
, a town close to the
Canada?US border
. He is the son of Robert "Butch" LeClair, a manager of a paint store, and Beverly (Clark), a
surgical nurse
.
[1]
LeClair has three older sisters, Mary Kay, Nancy, and Susan, and a younger brother, Joseph.
[2]
Although familiar with hockey, LeClair's father Butch never actually played the sport himself. Until the 1960s, there was no organized hockey in the Saint Albans area. Despite this, LeClair took notice and asked his father for a pair of hockey skates at age six. Butch recalls how the kids in the area first played:
At first, they played in an old railroad shed. Then they got a bunch of people who signed a note and built Coote Field Arena. It was just a metal shack with a lunch bar and an old tractor to scrape the ice. It was kind of primitive, but it worked very well. It produced some good hockey.
[2]
Richard Benoit, the father of John's friend Jeremy, created a homemade rink for the kids in his backyard by flooding his volleyball court. Benoit added boards around the edge and installed lights so they could play at night. There was also a shack complete with a heater for the kids to go to warm up if needed.
[2]
High school and college years
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When LeClair was a freshman at
Bellows Free Academy
, he didn't make the very competitive high school team. So, he continued to play in community leagues. In his sophomore year, LeClair made the team and earned attention. "We'd be dumping the puck in (during a line change), and there would be John, in the corner on his knees and hands, five against one, somehow getting the puck out of the corner," recalls Luke Cioffi, a teammate and childhood friend of LeClair's.
[2]
Soon, the young LeClair was attracting attention. College scouts began to take notice when he participated as a junior in
Hockey Night in Boston
, a showcase for young talent. LeClair decided to pursue college, and he was accepted at the
University of Vermont
(UVM).
[2]
At UVM, LeClair's college career was hampered by injuries. Over the course of his sophomore and junior years, he appeared in only 28 games. After missing the first month of his senior season due to
meningitis
, he finished the season strong with 25 goals and 20 assists in only 33 games.
[2]
Playing career
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Montreal Canadiens
[
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LeClair was drafted by the
Montreal Canadiens
with the 33rd pick in the
1987 NHL Entry Draft
after graduating from
Bellows Free Academy
(B.F.A.) High School in
St. Albans, Vermont
. One of the most highly recruited hockey players in New England, LeClair put his NHL aspirations on hold to attend the
University of Vermont
on a full scholarship. His fans didn't have to wait long to see him score in his first collegiate game. After the final game of his senior year he signed with the Canadiens and, less than a week later, played and scored in his first NHL game. As a member of the Canadiens, LeClair was on the
Stanley Cup
-winning team in
1993
, where he scored two overtime game-winning goals during the
1993 Stanley Cup Finals
.
Philadelphia Flyers and the Legion of Doom
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]
On February 9, 1995, a Montreal team desperate to salvage a difficult season traded LeClair, along with
Eric Desjardins
and
Gilbert Dionne
to the
Philadelphia Flyers
in exchange for
Mark Recchi
and Philadelphia's third round choice in the
1995 NHL Entry Draft
(
Martin Hohenberger
). LeClair gelled immediately with new line-mate
Eric Lindros
and quickly became one of the NHL's most feared goal scorers.
With the Flyers, he played left-wing on the famed
"Legion of Doom"
line, centered by Lindros and
Mikael Renberg
on right-wing. The trio was not only effective at scoring but they were also a dominant physical presence on the ice. In
1998
, LeClair became the first American-born NHL player to record three consecutive 50-goal seasons and the second Flyer to do so, behind
Tim Kerr
. Following the
1997?98 NHL season
, LeClair had two consecutive 40-goal seasons.
During his first five seasons with the Flyers, LeClair was named to the season-ending
NHL All-Star team
, twice to the first team and three times to the second team. That is currently the highest total among retired players eligible for the
Hockey Hall of Fame
who have not been inducted.
LeClair played for the Flyers for 10 seasons and was one of the most productive players in franchise history, scoring 333 goals and an additional 35 in the playoffs, statistics good enough to place him in the top 10 Flyers' career goal scorers.
Pittsburgh Penguins
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LeClair with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2006
On July 23, 2005, as a result of a new
Collective Bargaining Agreement
which finally introduced a salary cap to the NHL, the Flyers were forced to part ways with their longtime
alternate captain
, and they bought out LeClair's contract to create cap space.
[3]
Rumors had LeClair going to the
Boston Bruins
or perhaps the
Toronto Maple Leafs
. Instead, LeClair signed a two-year deal with the
Pittsburgh Penguins
on August 15, 2005.
[4]
LeClair had a successful season in Pittsburgh during the
2005?06
season, finishing fourth on the team in scoring as he passed the 400-goal mark and had his ninth 50+ point season.
[5]
LeClair struggled in the first quarter of the
2006?07
season, scoring only two goals and five assists through 21 games.
[6]
On December 14, 2006, he and the Penguins agreed to a mutual release from his contract.
[7]
LeClair retired following the season.
[8]
Other information
[
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]
LeClair signing autographs at
Dick's Sporting Goods
in 2014.
LeClair is president of the
John LeClair Foundation
which awards grants to non-profit Vermont organizations that sponsor programs for children. He currently divides his time between
Haverford Township, Pennsylvania
and his hometown of
St. Albans, Vermont
. LeClair was inducted into the
United States Hockey Hall of Fame
in 2009, the
Vermont Sports Hall of Fame
in 2012, and the
Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame
in 2014.
In June 2023, LeClair was hired by the Flyers as a special advisor to hockey operations.
[9]
Awards and honors
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College
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Professional
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International
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Career statistics
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Regular season and playoffs
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International
[
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All-Star Games
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References
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- ^
Robert LeClair Obituary
Legacy.com
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Powell, Phelan (1999). "Chapter 2: Home, Sweet Home". In Reginald, Stephen (ed.).
John LeClair profile
. Ice Hockey Legends.
Philadelphia, PA
:
Chelsea House Publishers
.
ISBN
0-7910-5016-5
.
- ^
"Flyers buy out LeClair, Amonte"
.
cbc.ca
. July 23, 2005
. Retrieved
February 16,
2023
.
- ^
"PENGUINS SIGN FREE AGENT LEFT WING JOHN LECLAIR"
.
NHL.com
. August 15, 2005. Archived from
the original
on September 23, 2016
. Retrieved
May 10,
2024
.
- ^
"LECLAIR IS SEVENTH AMERICAN TO SCORE 400 NHL GOALS"
.
NHL.com
. March 28, 2006. Archived from
the original
on October 30, 2022
. Retrieved
November 29,
2023
.
- ^
"Penguins drop John LeClair - UPI.com"
.
UPI
. December 14, 2006
. Retrieved
May 10,
2024
.
- ^
"Penguins, LeClair agree to mutual release, part ways"
.
ESPN.com
. December 14, 2006
. Retrieved
May 10,
2024
.
- ^
Smith, Brian (June 22, 2023).
"LeClair, Sharp eager to boost Flyers development"
.
Philadelphia Flyers
. Retrieved
May 10,
2024
.
- ^
"Flyers name John LeClair Special Advisor to Hockey Operations"
.
Philadelphia Flyers
. June 15, 2023
. Retrieved
May 10,
2024
.
- ^
"ECAC All-Rookie Teams"
. College Hockey Historical Archives
. Retrieved
May 19,
2013
.
- ^
"ECAC All-Teams"
. College Hockey Historical Archives
. Retrieved
May 19,
2013
.
External links
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