LeClair recalled for cannon shot

ASK ERIC LINDROS what he remembers about his first practice with John LeClair after that franchise-altering, midseason trade with Montreal and he doesn't hesitate.

"I didn't know a whole lot about John," Lindros said. "Things seemed to click within the first practice. We had a great deal of fun, we worked hard, but we really wanted to score in practice as much as we could.

"[We were] really focusing on making sure that the bottom line was not only that we got a shot, but it went in."

The man tasked with stopping most of those shots from 1995-99 was Ron Hextall.

Given LeClair's rocket from one side of the ice and Lindros' bull rushes to the net, seeing the two of them cross the blue line each with a puck on their stick had to be a sinking feeling.

"To be honest with you, yeah, they loved to score," Hextall said, smiling. "As a goalie, how could you not relish wanting to stop both of them?"

No one, especially Hextall, could forget LeClair's rocket from the top of the circle - a blast from a bygone era of hockey.

LeClair will be inducted into the Flyers' Hall of Fame tonight on the back of his 333 goals in 649 games with the Flyers. At least a third of those goals - the ones that didn't bounce off his rear end or he didn't tip with his stick - were fired from the wing on the left side with that strange, heel-curved stick.

"It was an absolute cannon," Hextall said. "We were talking the other day how the game's change - you don't see that a lot anymore, guys coming down the wing and winding up for the big shot. There's no time. There's too much pressure defensively, from defensemen closing gaps to forwards back-pressuring.

"He had a howitzer. It was fun."

The last Flyer to score a goal in that windup fashion was probably Jody Shelley, who beat Ondrej Pavelec with a high-rising rip on Jan. 14, 2011. That the game was against the Atlanta Thrashers tells you how long it's really been.

Yet, Hextall believes the unique styles of both Lindros and LeClair could mesh with today's game, one that has gotten faster even within the last 3 years - never mind since when they retired in 2006-07.

It's easy to take for granted LeClair's dominance, particularly as a goal scorer, in light of Lindros' accomplishments. LeClair scored 40 or more goals in five straight seasons, including three consecutive 50-goal campaigns.

There is a reason the Flyers made LeClair the game's highest-paid player at one point, with a 5-year, $45 million deal.

"Oh yeah, John's game would translate," Hextall said. "Getting the puck to the net, absolutely. He wasn't pretty, but he was faster than everybody thought. He's still that big brute that could stand in front of the net and bang in rebounds.

"They'd both be good in today's game. We could use them both. Man, only if they were about 25."

LeClair, 45, hasn't strayed far from Philadelphia. The son of St. Albans, Vt., he lives in Haverford, where his kids "grew up and got a real good chance to make friends in the community."

He has dabbled in scouting consulting for his longtime agent, Lewis Gross, watching college, junior and high school games in search of talent.

"I enjoy watching hockey," LeClair said. "It also gives me quite a bit of freedom that I can follow my child and be a big part of their lives. It's been really nice these last few years to be there whenever I need to be and not to have to answer to [a more rigid job]."

After all those slap shots and bruises under his equipment, Hextall wondered aloud, who was better than Lindros and LeClair together?

"Think about being a defense pairing and going against Lindros and LeClair. That was a challenge," Hextall said. "They were huge. They were both great players. If you look at the power duos, they're probably the greatest of all time in terms of power forwards. Eric and John are both a big part of the history of this franchise. I think everybody's looking forward to this night."

Blog: ph.ly/FrequentFlyers

Age/NHL debut: 21. Ages/with Flyers: 25-34. Age/today: 45.

How acquired: Via trade with Montreal with Eric Desjardins and Gilbert Dionne for Mark Recchi and a 1995 third-round pick (Martin Hohenberger) on Feb. 9, 1995, in one of the most lopsided deals in Flyers history. Recchi was productive for Montreal (322 points in 346 games), but LeClair and Desjardins are among all-time great Flyers.

Flyers career: Played left wing alongside center Eric Lindros and right wing Mikael Renberg on the famed "Legion of Doom" line ... Led the Flyers in goals five times and is fifth in team history with 333 in 649 games ... Played in five consecutive All-Star Games from 1996-2000 and was first-team All-NHL in 1995 and 1998 ... Had a hat trick in his fourth game as a Flyer ... Scored four goals in a game three times, including twice against Montreal. LeClair and Rick Tocchet (twice) are the only Flyers with multiple four-goal games ... Led the NHL with a plus-44 in 1996-97 ... Scored "the other" goal in Game 4 against the Penguins in the 2000 playoffs. Keith Primeau famously won it by scoring in the fifth overtime.

Other NHL stops: Spent parts of five seasons with Montreal, where he is revered for scoring two overtime goals in the 1993 Cup finals. It's the last time the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup ... Played the final two seasons of his career in Pittsburgh.

Did you know? LeClair is the last American-born player to score 50 goals in a season and the only American to score at least 50 three times.