Pascal Leclaire

Pascal Leclaire

Born: November 7, 1982
Age: 41
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Biography

Pascal Leclaire (born November 7, 1982) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. Leclaire played three years in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and was selected eighth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. After playing in the Blue Jackets' organization for seven seasons, he was traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2009 and spent the following two seasons in the organization. Internationally, he has represented Canada on the national junior and men's teams.

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Playing career

Leclaire played junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for 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 Blue Jackets. He subsequently bounced back and forth between Columbus and their 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 goalie. However, during the season, Leclaire suffered from a leg injury and backup goaltender Fredrik Norrena took over and eventually played 55 games out of 82. In 2007-08, Leclaire had an outstanding season and regained the number one 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 56th 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 second-round pick in 2009 (Robin Lehner), in exchange for Antoine Vermette on deadline day 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 would finish 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, on the Reseau des sports program L'Antichambre, Leclaire announced his retirement from hockey. He had undergone three operations on his right hip, from which he was not able to recover.

International play

Pascal Leclaire
Medal record
Representing Canada
IIHF World Championship
2008 Canada

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

Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SA SV SV% G A PIM
1998-99 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 33 19 11 1 1828 96 2 3.15
1999-2000 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 31 16 8 4 1729 103 1 3.57
2000-01 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 33 14 16 5 2111 126 1 3.58
2001-02 Montreal Rocket QMJHL 45 15 23 4 2513 138 1 3.29 1312 1174 .895 0 1 6
2002-03 Syracuse Crunch AHL 36 8 21 3 1886 112 0 3.56 1016 904 .890 0 0 0
2003-04 Syracuse Crunch AHL 44 21 16 3 2447 125 2 3.06 1476 1351 .915 0 2 0
2003-04 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 2 0 2 0 119 7 0 3.53 69 62 .899 0 0 0
2004-05 Syracuse Crunch AHL 14 5 6 3 844 33 2 2.34 446 413 .926 0 0 0
2005-06 Syracuse Crunch AHL 7 3 3 0 340 16 1 2.82 200 184 .920 0 2 0
2005-06 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 33 11 5 3 1804 97 0 3.23 1084 987 .911 0 1 2
2006-07 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 24 6 15 2 1315 65 1 2.97 629 564 .897 0 0 2
2007-08 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 54 24 17 6 2986 112 9 2.25 1379 1267 .919 0 2 2
2008-09 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 12 4 6 1 674 43 0 3.83 324 281 .867 0 1 0
2009-10 Ottawa Senators NHL 34 12 14 2 1745 93 0 3.20 822 729 .887 0 0 2
2010-11 Ottawa Senators NHL 14 4 7 1 763 36 0 2.83 391 355 .908 0 0 0
2010-11 Binghamton Senators AHL 1 0 0 1 65 2 0 1.85 32 30 .938 0 0 0
NHL totals 173 61 76 0 15 9406 453 10 2.89 4698 4245 .904 0 4 8

Playoffs

Season Team League GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SA SV SV% G A PIM
1998-99 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 1 0 0 17 2 0 7.06 0 0 0
1999-2000 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 5 1 2 198 12 0 3.64 106 94 .887 0 0 0
2000-01 Halifax Mooseheads QMJHL 2 0 2 109 10 0 5.50 75 65 .867 0 0 0
2001-02 Montreal Rocket QMJHL 7 3 4 441 15 0 2.04 219 204 .932 0 0 2
2003-04 Syracuse Crunch AHL 3 1 2 142 12 0 5.07 88 76 .864 0 0 0
2005-06 Syracuse Crunch AHL 5 2 3 288 11 1 2.29 181 170 .939 0 0 4
2009-10 Ottawa Senators NHL 3 1 2 211 10 0 2.84 125 115 .920 0 0 0
NHL totals 3 1 2 211 10 0 2.84 125 115 .920 0 0 0

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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