Montreal Canadiens: Three Former Habs Who Deserve Hall of Fame Nod Today – But Likely Won’t
3. John LeClair
John LeClair started his career with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1990-91 season after he was taken in the second round of the 1987 NHL Draft. His career started rather slowly as he played just ten games that season after finishing his college career and scored seven points. He would play 59 games the following year and score eight goals and 19 points.
The Canadiens portion of his career was certainly not the highlight, but he played a huge role in the Habs winning their most recent Stanley Cup in 1993. It was his first full NHL season and the 23 year old played a depth role as a left winger on a deep Habs squad. He scored 19 goals and 44 points in 72 games and added four goals and ten points in 20 playoff games.
He wasn’t the teams highest scorer, but they might not have been able to win the Stanley Cup without his heroics. The Canadiens would win an incredible ten straight overtime games in that playoff run, and LeClair would be the hero in their final two extra time victories.
Everyone remembers Game 2 of that series with Jacques Demers calling for a stick measurement of Marty McSorley and the Habs coming back in the final minutes to tie the game, and win it in overtime with Eric Desjardins scoring both goals.
While one player that would eventually be traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in a terrible trade for the Habs was the hero in Game 2, his counterpart that would join him in Philly later was the hero in Game 3 and 4. LeClair stepped up big in the Stanley Cup Final, scoring the overtime goals that would give the Habs a 2-1 and then a 3-1 series lead over the Los Angeles Kings.
That was his claim to fame while playing with the Habs, but immediately after being traded to the Flyers in the 1994-95 season, LeClair became the best left winger in hockey for the next half decade.
The American scored 25 goals and 49 points in just 37 games for the Flyers during his first season in Philly. He followed that up with seasons of 51, 50 and 51 goals. This ranked 10th, 5th, 3rd and 3rd in league goal scoring. The following two years he would score over 40 goals again each season and rank 5th and 7th in NHL goals.
During this time, he was twice named to the end of season First All-Star Team and three times named to the Second All-Star Team. Injuries robbed him of most of the 2000-01 and 2002-03 seasons when he was in his early thirties, and kept his final numbers from reaching bigger heights.
Still, he finished his career with 406 goals and 819 points in 967 games. Those aren’t the best numbers in the world, but Paul Kariya recently got into the Hall of Fame with 402 goals and 989 points, longtime linemate Eric Lindros got in with 372 goals and 865 points in 760 games, Martin St.Louis is in with 391 goals and 1033 points in 1134 games and Cam Neely is a Hall of Famer with 395 goals and 694 points in 726 games.
To add to LeClair’s resume, he has been exceptional while representing his country. He scored ten goals and 16 points in 14 World Junior games spread over two years. He was fantastic at the 1996 World Cup, helping lead the United States to gold with six goals and ten points in seven games. He trailed only Brett Hull is goals and points at the event. In 2002 he helped the Americans win a silver medal at the Olympics by leading the tournament in goals with six in seven games.
LeClair is a Stanley Cup champion, an Olympic silver medalist, a World Cup gold medalist and an American Hockey Hall of Fame player. He should also get strong consideration for the Hockey Hall of Fame.