John LeClair

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Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Nickname(s) Johnny Vermont
Height
Weight		 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
233 lb (106 kg/16 st 9 lb)
Pro clubs Montreal Canadiens
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Nationality Flag of the United States United States
Born July 5, 1969 (1969-07-05) (age 38),
St. Albans, VT, U.S.
NHL Draft 33rd overall, 1987
Montreal Canadiens
Pro career 1991 – 2006

John Clark LeClair (born July 5, 1969 in St. Albans, Vermont) is an American professional ice hockey player. He most recently played left wing for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL, who released him on December 14, 2006. He is currently an unrestricted free-agent.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Montreal Canadiens

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 Stanley Cup Finals.

[edit] Philadelphia Flyers

During the 1994–95 NHL season he was traded, along with fellow teammates Eric Desjardins and Gilbert Dionne to Philadelphia for Mark Recchi. He has played on the U.S. Olympic hockey team twice and has had three consecutive 50-goal seasons in the NHL. He was named to the Olympic Tournament All-Star Team after posting a tournament-best six goals for silver medalist Team USA at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games

LeClair played for the Philadelphia Flyers for 10 seasons. While with the Flyers he played left-wing on the famed "Legion of Doom" line, with Mikael Renberg on right-wing and centered by Eric Lindros. 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. LeClair was one of the most productive players in the history of the Flyers franchise scoring 382 career goals and an additional 42 in the playoffs, marks good enough for top 10 in the history of Flyers goal scorers.

[edit] Pittsburgh Penguins

On July 23, 2005, as a result of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and the salary cap that came along with it, the Flyers were forced to part ways with their longtime alternate captain: they bought out LeClair's and teammate Tony Amonte's contracts. 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. It is rumored that friend and former teammate Mark Recchi recruited LeClair to join him in Pittsburgh. LeClair had a fairly successful season in Pittsburgh during the 2005–06 NHL season, finishing third on the team in scoring as he passed the 400-goal mark and had his eighth 50+ point season.

[edit] Other Information

John is president of the John LeClair Foundation which awards grants to non-profit Vermont organizations that sponsor programs for children. In addition, he and former teammate Chris Therien operate a shipping logistics company together called LT Lines (LeClair-Therien Lines).

[edit] Awards

ECAC Second All-Star Team (1991) NHL First All-Star Team (1995, 1998) NHL Second All-Star Team (1996, 1997, 1999) World Cup All-Star Team (1996) Bud Ice Plus/Minus Award (1997) Bud Light Plus/Minus Award (1999) Played in NHL All-Star Game (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 02 Olympics Silver Medal 02 Olympics First All-Star team

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1987–88 University of Vermont ECAC 31 12 22 34 62 - - - - -
1988–89 University of Vermont ECAC 18 9 12 21 40 - - - - -
1989–90 University of Vermont ECAC 10 10 6 16 38 - - - - -
1990–91 University of Vermont ECAC 33 25 20 45 58 - - - - -
1990–91 Montreal Canadiens NHL 10 2 5 7 2 3 0 0 0 0
1991–92 Montreal Canadiens NHL 59 8 11 19 14 8 1 1 2 4
1991–92 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 8 7 7 14 10 2 0 0 0 4
1992–93 Montreal Canadiens NHL 72 19 25 44 33 20 4 6 10 14
1993–94 Montreal Canadiens NHL 74 19 24 43 32 7 2 1 3 8
1994–95 Montreal Canadiens NHL 9 1 4 5 10 - - - - -
1994–95 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 37 25 24 49 20 15 5 7 12 4
1995–96 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 51 46 97 64 11 6 5 11 6
1996–97 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 50 47 97 58 19 9 12 21 10
1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 51 36 87 32 5 1 1 2 8
1998–99 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 76 43 47 90 30 6 3 0 3 12
1999–00 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 40 37 77 36 18 6 7 13 6
2000–01 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 16 7 5 12 0 6 1 2 3 2
2001–02 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 25 26 51 30 5 0 0 0 2
2002–03 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 35 18 10 28 16 13 2 3 5 10
2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 75 23 32 55 51 18 2 2 4 8
2005–06 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 73 22 29 51 61 - - - - -
2006–07 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 21 2 5 7 12 - - - - -
NHL totals 967 406 413 819 501 154 42 47 89 94

[edit] International play

Olympic medal record
Men's Ice Hockey
Silver 2002 Salt Lake City Ice Hockey

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Chris Pronger		 Winner of the NHL Plus/Minus Award
1999		 Succeeded by
Chris Pronger
Preceded by
Vladimir Konstantinov		 Winner of the NHL Plus/Minus Award
1997		 Succeeded by
Chris Pronger
Preceded by
Eric Lindros		 Winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy
1997,1998		 Succeeded by
Eric Lindros