Pascal Leclaire

Did You Know?

• At the 2002 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships he recorded a 1.80 GAA and two shutouts over five games.
• He went undefeated in four games at the 2008 IIHF World Championship, recording a 2.00 GAA.

Playing career

Pascal Leclaire got his start in organized hockey at the 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament, where he suited up for the Rive-Nord Elites. He then spent his junior years in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, playing for both the Halifax Mooseheads and the Montreal Rocket from 1998 to 2002. In the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, he became the first goaltender taken, going eighth overall to the Columbus Blue Jackets. For the next few seasons, he split time between Columbus and their AHL farm team, the Syracuse Crunch, before finally earning a permanent spot on the Blue Jackets roster in 2006 as Marc Denis’s backup. That changed on June 30, 2006, when Denis was shipped to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Leclaire was handed the starting job. A leg injury during the 2006–07 season limited his playing time, and backup Fredrik Norrena stepped in for 55 of the team’s 82 games. Leclaire bounced back in a big way the following year, reclaiming the starting role and putting up a standout season. He set franchise records with nine shutouts—second in the league behind only Henrik Lundqvist—and finished second in the NHL in goals-against average and third in save percentage. Despite finishing second in fan voting among Western Conference goalies for the 2008 All-Star Game, he was not selected for the final roster. The 2008–09 season took a turn when an ankle injury knocked him out for the year, prompting the Blue Jackets to call up rookie Steve Mason, who excelled and led the Western Conference in several categories. In a push for the playoffs, Columbus traded Leclaire to the Ottawa Senators on March 4, 2009, along with a second-round pick in 2009, in exchange for Antoine Vermette. After recovering from ankle surgery, Leclaire was expected to be Ottawa’s starter in 2009–10, but inconsistent play and injuries—including a broken cheekbone from a puck that hit him while he sat on the bench—forced him to finish the season backing up Brian Elliott. The following year, his struggles deepened: he played only 14 NHL games, and the Senators ended the season with a top two goaltending tandem that didn’t include him. He also underwent hip surgery during that campaign. When the 2011–12 season began, Leclaire was an unsigned unrestricted free agent. He ended up sitting out the entire year, unable to reach a contract agreement with any team.