Pascal Leclaire

Pascal Leclaire (born November 7, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Leclaire was selected in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2001 NHL entry draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets and played in the Blue Jackets' organization for seven seasons. He was traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2009 and played in 48 regular season games with Ottawa over two seasons before retiring. Internationally, he has represented Canada on the national junior and men's teams.

Playing career As a youth, Leclaire played in the 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Rive-Nord Elites minor ice hockey team.

Leclaire played junior ice hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Halifax Mooseheads and the Montreal Rocket between 1998 and 2002. Leclaire was the first goaltender selected in the 2001 NHL entry draft, chosen eighth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets. He subsequently bounced back and forth between Columbus and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, from 2002 to 2005 before finally sticking with the Blue Jackets for good in 2006, serving as a backup to Marc Denis.

On June 30, 2006, Denis was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Leclaire was promoted to starting goaltender. However, during the 2006–07 season, Leclaire suffered from a leg injury and backup goaltender Fredrik Norrena took over and eventually played in 55 games out of 82. In 2007–08, Leclaire had an outstanding season and regained the starting goaltender job. He set new team records with nine shutouts (second in the league only to Henrik Lundqvist), ranked second in the NHL in goals against average, and third in save percentage. Leclaire finished second in fan voting among Western Conference goaltenders for the 2008 NHL All-Star Game, but was not named to the final team.

In the 2008–09 season, Leclaire injured his ankle, sidelining him for the season and the Blue Jackets promoted rookie Steve Mason. Mason's play was outstanding, leading the Western Conference in several categories. In a playoff race, the Blue Jackets traded Leclaire to the Ottawa Senators, along with a 2009 second-round pick in exchange for Antoine Vermette on March 4, 2009. As expected, Leclaire assumed the role of starting goaltender with the Senators in 2009–10, once he had fully recovered from ankle surgery. However, Leclaire finished the season backing up Brian Elliott in the Ottawa net, due to inconsistent play and injuries, including a broken cheekbone suffered from being hit by an errant puck while sitting on the bench during a game. The inconsistency and injuries worsened considerably in 2010–11 with Leclaire playing 14 NHL games and the Senators finishing the year with a top 2 tandem of goaltenders other than those who started the season with the team. During the season he underwent hip surgery.

As the 2011–12 NHL season began, Leclaire remained unsigned as an unrestricted free agent. He would ultimately sit out the entire season, unable to come to terms on a contract with any team.

On November 12, 2012, Leclaire announced his retirement from ice hockey. He had undergone three operations on his right hip, from which he was not able to recover.

On October 5, 2005, Leclaire allowed the first career NHL goal scored by Alexander Ovechkin who would eventually have the record for the most goals in NHL history.

International play

Leclaire competed in the 2002 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships with Canada. He assumed the starting position, recording a 1.80 GAA and two shutouts over five games. Six years later, he joined Canada's men's team at the 2008 IIHF World Championship in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He played in four games, going undefeated while recording a 2.00 GAA. Canada lost in the gold medal game to Russia.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1997–98 Cap-de-la-Madeleine Estacades QMAAA 26 6 17 3 — 1580 127 0 4.90 — — — — — — — — — 1998–99 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 33 19 11 1 — 1828 96 2 3.15 .900 1 0 0 17 2 0 7.06 .778 1999–00 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 31 16 8 4 — 1729 103 1 3.57 .893 5 1 2 198 12 0 3.64 .887 2000–01 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 33 14 16 5 — 2111 126 1 3.58 .891 2 0 2 109 10 0 5.50 .867 2001–02 Montreal Rocket QMJHL 45 15 23 4 — 2513 138 1 3.29 .895 7 3 4 441 15 0 2.04 .932 2002–03 Syracuse Crunch AHL 36 8 21 3 — 1886 112 0 3.56 .890 — — — — — — — — 2003–04 Syracuse Crunch AHL 44 21 16 3 — 2447 125 2 3.06 .915 3 1 2 142 12 0 5.07 .864 2003–04 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 2 0 2 0 — 119 7 0 3.53 .899 — — — — — — — — 2004–05 Syracuse Crunch AHL 14 5 6 — 3 844 33 2 2.34 .926 5 2 3 288 11 1 2.29 .939 2005–06 Syracuse Crunch AHL 7 3 3 — 0 340 16 1 2.82 .920 5 2 3 288 11 1 2.29 .939 2005–06 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 33 11 15 — 3 1804 97 0 3.23 .911 — — — — — — — — 2006–07 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 24 6 15 — 2 1315 65 1 2.97 .897 — — — — — — — — 2007–08 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 54 24 17 — 6 2986 112 9 2.25 .919 — — — — — — — — 2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 12 4 6 — 1 674 43 0 3.83 .867 — — — — — — — — 2009–10 Ottawa Senators NHL 34 12 14 — 2 1745 93 0 3.20 .887 3 1 2 211 10 0 2.84 .920 2010–11 Ottawa Senators NHL 14 4 7 — 1 763 36 0 2.83 .908 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 Binghamton Senators AHL 1 0 0 — 1 65 2 0 1.85 .938 — — — — — — — — NHL totals 173 61 76 0 15 9406 453 10 2.89 .904 3 1 2 211 10 0 2.84 .920

International Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2002 Canada WJC 5 4 1 0 299 9 2 1.80 .937 2008 Canada WC 4 4 0 — 240 8 1 2.00 .925