John LeClair joins Philadelphia Flyers as special advisor to hockey operations

The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that former player John LeClair has joined the team as a special advisor to hockey operations.

It’s the latest in the spring of hirings involving former Flyers players. In May, the Flyers added Keith Jones as the president of hockey operations, and then later promoted Daniel Briere to GM after previously holding the interim tag. The club then hired Patrick Sharp earlier this week in the same role as LeClair.

“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.”

According to the team’s press release, LeClair and Sharp will work together “in all aspects of the club’s hockey operations department with a strong focus on player development with Flyers prospects.”

The 53-year-old former winger played with Philadelphia from 1995-04. He played his first five seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, helping the team win the Stanley Cup in 1993. But his best years were with the Flyers, where he had 97 points in each of his first two seasons with the club.

LeClair had 643 points in 649 games with the Flyers, adding to his career total of 819 points. He finished with a brief two-year spell in Pittsburgh, recording 58 points over 94 games before retiring after the 2006-07 season.

He was also the first American-born player to score 30 goals in three straight seasons while playing alongside Eric Lindros and Mikael Renberg – nicknamed the Legion of Doom line. LeClair represented the United States on various occasions, winning gold at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and silver at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake.