John LeClair

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United StatesUnited States  John LeClair Ice hockey player
John LeClair
Date of birth 5th July 1969
place of birth St. Albans , Vermont , USA
size 191 cm
Weight 107 kg
position Left wing
number # 10
Shot hand Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft 1987 , 2nd round, 33rd position
Canadiens de Montréal
Career stations
1987-1991 University of Vermont
1991-1995 Canadiens de Montréal
1995-2005 Philadelphia Flyers
2005-2006 Pittsburgh Penguins

John Clark LeClair (born July 5, 1969 in St. Albans , Vermont ) is a former American ice hockey player who played for the Canadiens de Montréal , Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins in the National between 1987 and 2006, among others Hockey League on the position of the left winger . LeClair, one of the most successful American players of the late 1990s and early 2000s and a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame , won the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens de Montréal in 1993 and won with the national team of the United States at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey .

Career

John LeClair was selected in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft by the Canadiens de Montréal in the second round at position 33. In the summer of 1987 he began his studies at the University of Vermont , where he also played on the ice hockey team. During the 1990/91 season LeClair graduated and played some games in the National Hockey League for the Canadiens de Montréal.

From the fall of 1991, the American was a permanent member of the Habs and won the Stanley Cup with them in the 1992/93 season . It was LeClair himself who scored the winning goal in the decisive game in extra time. During the 1994/95 season he was transferred to the Philadelphia Flyers .

In Philadelphia he belonged as a left winger to the "Legion of Doom-Line" with Eric Lindros as the center and Mikael Renberg as the right winger. The series was known on the one hand for its scorer qualities, on the other hand for its tough, body-hugging game. In 1996 the attacker was nominated for the first time for the NHL All-Star Game and achieved 97 points that season, a personal best that he achieved again the following year.

LeClair (left) in the Pittsburgh Penguins jersey

From 1995 to 1998, the winger scored at least 50 goals each in three consecutive seasons, a mark LeClair was the first American to achieve. In 2002 LeClair was part of the USA team that won the silver medal at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City . In the meantime, he could no longer achieve the performance of the nineties, but with values ​​of over 50 points per season they were still satisfactory.

In the summer of 2004, he finished his tenth season in Philadelphia. After that, play was suspended for a long time in the NHL because the teams, the National Hockey League Players' Association and the league could not agree on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement , a kind of collective agreement. The 2004/05 season was therefore canceled, but an agreement was found in the summer of 2005. In the new collective agreement there was also an upper salary limit per team, which meant that several teams had to split up with players so that they did not exceed the upper limit. One of these players was John LeClair. His contract was paid off by the Flyers and he had to find a new team.

In August 2005, he signed a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins after speculation that he would join the Boston Bruins . It has been suggested that LeClair's friend and former teammate Mark Recchi persuaded him to go to Pittsburgh with him. There he was able to build on the achievements of previous years and played a solid season.

In the 2006/07 season , LeClair could not bring the required performance, got only a little ice age and was finally put on the waiver list at the end of November . But by the deadline 48 hours later he was not signed by any team and so the Pittsburgh Penguins sent him to their farm team , the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins , in the American Hockey League . LeClair, who had scored at least 50 goals each time in three seasons in the National Hockey League, refused to go into the second division, which is why he was threatened with suspension. It was finally agreed on December 14, 2006 that the Penguins would part ways with LeClair and the remaining salary would become invalid.

John LeClair is President of the John LeClair Foundation , which supports organizations in Vermont that work for children.

Achievements and Awards

International

  • 2002 best goalscorer at the Olympic Winter Games
  • 2002 All-Star Team of the Winter Olympics

Records

  • First American to score at least 50 goals each in three consecutive seasons (1995/96 - 51 goals; 1996/97 - 50 goals; 1997/98 - 51 goals)

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
season team league Sp T V Pt SM Sp T V Pt SM
1985/86 Bellows Free Academy High school 22nd 41 28 69 14th - - - - -
1986/87 Bellows Free Academy High school 23 44 40 84 14th - - - - -
1987/88 University of Vermont NCAA 31 12 22nd 34 62
1988/89 University of Vermont NCAA 18th 9 12 21st 40
1989/90 University of Vermont NCAA 10 10 6th 16 38
1990/91 University of Vermont NCAA 33 25th 20th 45 58
1990/91 Canadiens de Montréal NHL 10 2 5 7th 2 3 0 0 0 0
1991/92 Canadiens de Montréal NHL 59 8th 11 19th 14th 8th 1 1 2 4th
1991/92 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 8th 7th 7th 14th 10 2 0 0 0 4th
1992/93 Canadiens de Montréal NHL 72 19th 25th 44 33 20th 4th 6th 10 14th
1993/94 Canadiens de Montréal NHL 74 19th 24 43 32 7th 2 1 3 8th
1994/95 Canadiens de Montréal NHL 9 1 4th 5 10 - - - - -
1994/95 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 37 25th 24 49 20th 15th 5 7th 12 4th
1995/96 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 51 46 97 64 11 6th 5 11 6th
1996/97 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 50 47 97 58 19th 9 12 21st 10
1997/98 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 51 36 87 32 5 1 1 2 8th
1998/99 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 76 43 47 90 30th 6th 3 0 3 12
1999/00 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 40 37 77 36 18th 6th 7th 13 6th
2000/01 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 16 7th 5 12 0 6th 1 2 3 2
2001/02 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 25th 26th 51 30th 5 0 0 0 2
2002/03 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 35 18th 10 28 16 13 2 3 5 10
2003/04 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 75 23 32 55 51 18th 2 2 4th 8th
2004/05 Philadelphia Flyers NHL not played because of lockout
2005/06 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 73 22nd 29 51 61 - - - - -
2006/07 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 21st 2 5 7th 12 - - - - -
High school overall 55 85 68 153 28 - - - - -
NCAA overall 92 56 60 116 198
NHL overall 967 406 413 819 501 154 42 47 89 94

International

Represented the USA at:

year team event result Sp T V Pt SM
1988 United States June World Cup 6th place 7th 4th 2 6th 12
1989 United States June World Cup 5th place 7th 6th 4th 10 12
1996 United States World cup 1st place, gold 7th 6th 4th 10 6th
1998 United States Olympia 6th place 4th 0 1 1 0
2002 United States Olympia 2nd place, silver 6th 6th 1 7th 2
Juniors overall 14th 10 6th 16 24
Men overall 17th 12 6th 18th 8th

( Legend for player statistics: Sp or GP = games played; T or G = goals scored; V or A = assists scored ; Pkt or Pts = scorer points scored ; SM or PIM = penalty minutes received ; +/− = plus / minus balance; PP = overpaid goals scored ; SH = underpaid goals scored ; GW = winning goals scored; 1  play-downs / relegation )

Web links

Commons : John LeClair  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME LeClair, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES LeClair, John Clark
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American ice hockey player
DATE OF BIRTH 5th July 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Albans , Vermont