John LeClair

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. LeClair was a member of the Montreal Canadiens' Stanley Cup winning team in 1993, scoring two overtime game-winning goals in consecutive games during the Final. 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.

Early life 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. LeClair has three older sisters, Mary Kay, Nancy, and Susan, and a younger brother, Joseph.

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.

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

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. 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. 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.

LeClair struggled in the first quarter of the 2006–07 season, scoring only two goals and five assists through 21 games. On December 14, 2006, he and the Penguins agreed to a mutual release from his contract. LeClair retired following the season.

Other information 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.

Awards and honors

College Award Year All-ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team 1987–88 All-ECAC Hockey Second team 1990–91

Professional AwardYear Stanley Cup champion 1993 Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy 1995 NHL first All-Star team 1995, 1998 NHL second All-Star team 1996, 1997, 1999 Bobby Clarke Trophy 1997, 1998 NHL Plus/Minus Award 1997, 1999 NHL All-Star 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000

International

AwardYear World Cup All-Star team 1996 Olympic Tournament All-Star team 2002

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1985–86 Bellows Free Academy HS-VT 22 41 28 69 14 — — — — — 1986–87 Bellows Free Academy HS-VT 23 44 40 84 14 — — — — — 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

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1988 United States WJC 7 4 2 6 12 1989 United States WJC 7 6 4 10 12 1996 United States WCH 7 6 4 10 6 1998 United States OLY 4 0 1 1 0 2002 United States OLY 6 6 1 7 2 Junior totals 14 10 6 16 24 Senior totals 17 12 6 18 8

All-Star Games Year Location G A P 1996 Boston 0 1 1 1997 San Jose 2 1 3 1998 Vancouver 1 0 1 1999 Tampa Bay 0 0 0 2000 Toronto 0 0 0 All-Star totals 3 2 5