Pascal Leclaire

Pascal Leclaire
Leclaire tending goal as a member of the Ottawa Senators.
Born	(1982-11-07) November 7, 1982 Repentigny, QC, CAN
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	202 lb (92 kg; 14 st 6 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Left
Played for	Columbus Blue Jackets Ottawa Senators
National team	Canada
NHL draft	8th overall, 2001 Columbus Blue Jackets
Playing career	2002–2010

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.

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.

Leclaire with the Blue Jackets in 2008

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

Leclaire with Team Canada at the 2008 IIHF World Championships

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

External links

• Pascal Leclaire career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database