John LeClair was hired by the Philadelphia Flyers as special adviser to hockey operations Thursday.
The 53-year-old was a teammate of Keith Jones, who was named Philadelphia president May 11, the same day Danny Briere had the interim tag removed as GM. The Flyers named Patrick Sharp special adviser to hockey operations Tuesday.
"I'm extremely excited and honored to be named a special adviser to hockey operations," LeClair said. "I'm most looking forward to being a part of this group and ensuring our No. 1 priority is to bring the Stanley Cup to Philadelphia."
LeClair will work with Sharp and be involved in all aspects of hockey operations, with a strong focus on player development with prospects.
"Adding in John LeClair to work in conjunction with Patrick Sharp and the rest of our hockey operations group will be a powerful combination with their vast hockey knowledge and a 'team-first' mentality," Jones said. "John has been around the NHL and the game for a long time and knows what it takes to bring the core ethics of our foundation to the Philadelphia Flyers."
A former forward, LeClair played 16 seasons in the NHL with the Montreal Canadiens, Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins, with 819 points (406 goals, 413 assists) in 967 games, and 89 points (42 goals, 47 assists) in 154 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Selected by the Canadiens in the second round (No. 33) of the 1987 NHL Draft, he won the Cup with Montreal in 1993.
LeClair, who is from St. Albans, Vermont, became the first United States-born player to score 50 goals in three consecutive NHL seasons (1995-98), playing on the "Legion of Doom" line with Eric Lindros and Mikael Renberg in Philadelphia.
He scored 51 goals twice, in 1995-96 and 1997-98. His NHL career high in points, 97, was also accomplished twice, in 1995-96 and 1996-97, when he led the League with a plus-44 rating.
LeClair ranks fifth in Flyers history with 333 goals and eighth in points with 643 points in 649 games.
He had 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 19 playoff games in 1997 when Philadelphia reached the Stanley Cup Final. The Flyers were swept in four games by the Detroit Red Wings.
LeClair was inducted into the University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001, the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009, the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Flyers Hall of Fame in 2014.
Philadelphia finished 31-38-13 this season, its third straight missing the playoffs. The Flyers have advanced past the first round of the postseason once since 2010, when they reached the Stanley Cup Final and lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.
