Press
Release
June 14, 2001
Comcast Spectacor
FLYERS SIGN LEFT WING JOHN LeCLAIR TO NEW FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT
The Philadelphia Flyers announced
today that they have signed left wing John LeClair to a new five-year
contract, according to club President and General Manager Bob Clarke.
Per club policy, financial terms were not disclosed. LeClair was
scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
From the 1994-95 through 1999-2000
seasons, LeClair ranked second in the NHL in goals with 261 (behind
Pittsburgh’s Jaromir Jagr’s 262 goals) and was third in the NHL in
points with 502 (behind Jagr’s 639 points and San Jose’s Teemu
Selanne’s 543 points).
In seven seasons with the Flyers
(1994-95 through 2000-01), LeClair has recorded 267 goals and 242
assists for 509 points and 240 penalty minutes in 457 regular season
games. He ranks eighth on the Flyers’ All-Time List in goals (267) and
10th in points (509). He ranks third all-time in points among Flyers
left wings (behind Bill Barber - 883 and Brian Propp - 849). He has led
the team in goals five times (1995-96 through 1999-2000) and in points
twice (1996-97 and 1997-98). He was awarded the Bobby Clarke Trophy,
which is given annually to the Flyers’ Most Valuable Player, twice
(1996-97 and 1997-98). LeClair has also won the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial
Trophy as the Flyer who has most improved from the previous season, as
voted by his teammates, following the 1994-95 season. LeClair is the
only Flyer to score 40 or more goals in five consecutive seasons
(1995-96 through 1999-2000).
LeClair, 31, registered seven goals
and five assists for 12 points in 16 regular season games for the Flyers
this past season. He added a goal and two assists in six games during
the 2001 Playoffs. LeClair missed a total of 66 games due to injury (20
from October 11 through November 24, 2000 recovering from disc surgery
to repair a L-3 disc herniation and 46 games from December 10, 2000
through March 22, 2001 due to a disc space infection).
During his 10-year NHL career,
LeClair has registered 316 goals and 311 assists for 627 points and 331
penalty minutes in 681 regular season games. The 6’3”, 230-pound
left wing has been named to the NHL First All-Star Team twice (1995 and
1998) and to the NHL Second All-Star Team three times (1996, 1997 and
1999). He captured the Bud Light Plus/Minus Award “as the player,
having played a minimum of 60 games, who leads the League in plus/minus
statistic at the end of the regular season” following the 1996-97 and
1998-99 seasons. He has represented the Flyers in five NHL All-Star
Games (1996 through 2000).
LeClair was acquired by the Flyers,
along with Eric Desjardins and Gilbert Dionne, from the Montreal
Canadiens in exchange for Mark Recchi and a third round pick in the 1995
NHL Entry Draft (Martin Hohenberger) on February 9, 1995. He was
originally drafted from Bellows Academy by Montreal in the second round
(33rd overall) of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft.
