As a youth, Legace played in the 1987
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a
minor ice hockey team from
Don Mills. Prior to being selected by the Whalers, Legace played in the
Ontario Hockey League with the
Niagara Falls Thunder and in
Roller Hockey International for the
Toronto Planets. Legace spent the 1993–1994 season as a member of the Canadian National Team and played in sixteen games. From there, Legace spent a lengthy apprenticeship in the minor leagues, largely for the
Springfield Falcons, between 1994–98. He was a star with Springfield, garnering First Team All-Star honors and the AHL's leading goaltender award in 1996. He also played a brief stint for the
ECHL's
Richmond Renegades in 1996–97 and for the
IHL's
Las Vegas Thunder in 1997–98. On July 31, 1998, the
Carolina Hurricanes traded Legace to the
Los Angeles Kings for a conditional draft pick in the
1999 NHL entry draft. Although he spent most of the
1999 season with the IHL
Long Beach Ice Dogs, Legace got his first NHL start with the Kings. While he played well in limited action for Los Angeles, he signed with Detroit on July 15, 1999. However, since the Red Wings had both
Chris Osgood and
Ken Wregget as veteran goaltenders, Legace was left unprotected on waivers. He was then claimed by the
Vancouver Canucks on September 29, 1999. Yet almost two weeks later, on October 13, 1999, Legace was reacquired by the Red Wings from the waiver wire when the Canucks in turn left him unprotected. While Legace spent most of his time playing for the IHL's
Manitoba Moose, he did get some action while playing for the Red Wings, posting a perfect 4–0–0 record.
Detroit Red Wings In training camp the next season, Legace beat out Wregget to establish himself as the backup goaltender to
Chris Osgood. Osgood had a very slow start, and Legace subsequently saw much action. Posting a 24–5–5 record in 39 games, Legace looked to have assumed the starting role for the team. However, Osgood regained his stride and resumed starting duties in the playoffs. With the
2001–02 season, Legace became backup to
Dominik Hašek when Osgood was waived and claimed by the
New York Islanders. Legace played in 20 games and only saw playoff action to relieve Hašek during Game 3 of the semifinals of the
2002 Stanley Cup playoffs to the
St. Louis Blues; the Red Wings won the
Stanley Cup that season. The next season, with the retirement of Hašek and the signing of star goaltender
Curtis Joseph, Legace saw his workload increase from 20 games to 25 games in the
2002–03 season, yet remained the team's backup. At the start of the
2003–04 season, Hašek made the startling decision to come out of retirement and return to the Red Wings. Curtis Joseph was still being paid $8 million a year and, due to his hefty contract, was not likely to be traded or picked up by a team. While Legace was initially going to be the 3rd goalie behind two elite goaltenders, the Red Wings opted to send Joseph to the minors while Legace served as Hašek's backup. Hašek, however, was not properly conditioned for a return to the NHL. Minor injuries and inconsistent play from Hašek thrust Legace into the starting role. Injuries to both Hašek and Legace opened the door for the Red Wings to call up Joseph from the minors, along with
Joey MacDonald to serve as his backup. When Legace returned from injury, MacDonald was sent back to the minors while Legace and Joseph ended up serving as Detroit's goaltending tandem for the remainder of the season, as Hašek opted not to return to the team from injury. An injury to Joseph late in the season found Legace temporarily working with minor-league goaltender
Marc Lamothe, but Lamothe was returned to the AHL's
Grand Rapids Griffins when Joseph returned to the roster. Due to Legace's strong play during the regular season, he was announced as Detroit's starting goaltender for the start of the
2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Red Wings faced the
Nashville Predators in the opening round of the 2004 playoffs. While Legace won the first two games, he did not perform up to team expectations and was pulled in the middle of the fourth game in favor of Joseph, who ended up backstopping for the remainder of the series. The Red Wings won the series but lost the next series against the
Calgary Flames. Legace briefly played in Russia during the
2004–05 NHL lockout, but eventually sat the rest of the season out, preferring to be close to his family in the States. Legace was the NHLPA Representative for the Detroit Red Wings until 2005, when the role was assumed by
Nicklas Lidström. Legace has since become a vocal critic of both the league and the players' union, especially in regard to how both sides handled the
2004–05 NHL lockout. For the
2005–06 season, Chris Osgood was re-signed by the Red Wings to compete with Legace for the starting job. However, due to Osgood's injuries and general lack of conditioning, Legace was awarded the starting goaltender role for the Detroit Red Wings. By October 2005 with the Red Wings defeating the
Chicago Blackhawks 5–2, Legace set the record for the most wins by a goaltender in the month of October (10–1). He would finish the regular season with a record of 37–8–3, helping lead the Red Wings to the
Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular season team by far.
St. Louis Blues Prior to Detroit's elimination from the
2006 playoffs, Legace indicated to the media that if Detroit failed to win the opening round of the playoffs, he would not be returning to the team. The Red Wings fell to the
Edmonton Oilers in six games. On June 10, 2006, Red Wings general manager
Ken Holland announced that Legace would not be offered a contract, thus making him a free agent. Legace signed a one-year contract with Wings' division-rivals, the
St. Louis Blues on August 8, 2006. In his
first season with the Blues Legace played in 45 games, posting a 23–15–5 record. His season was cut short due to a mid-season concussion and season-ending knee surgery, but his play was solid enough to earn him a two-year contract extension with the Blues on February 24, 2007. Legace enjoyed success with St. Louis in the
2007–08 season, and was named to the 2008 NHL All-Star Game. Despite Legace's numbers, the Blues failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season. In the
2008–09 season, Legace shared starting duties with
Chris Mason to begin the season. After failing to repeat his previous season efforts the Blues placed Legace on waivers on February 6, 2009. Legace was then demoted to the team's AHL affiliate
Peoria Rivermen for the remainder of the season and helped the Rivermen reach the playoffs. Manny admitted later that there was animosity between him and the Blues management.
Carolina Hurricanes On November 9, 2009, Legace signed a one-year contract with the
Carolina Hurricanes. The two-way deal paid Legace $500,000 to play in the
NHL level and $105,000 to play at the
AHL level. His first game with the
Carolina Hurricanes was on November 11, 2009, against the
Los Angeles Kings, where they fell 5–2 in
Raleigh at the
RBC Center.
Later years On September 26, 2010, the
New York Islanders announced they signed Legace to a PTO. he was released a few weeks later. For the remainder of the
2010–11 season, Legace played in the
Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) in Germany for the
Iserlohn Roosters, with whom he had a one-year contract. During the 2011 pre-season, Legace made two exhibition appearances for the Vancouver Canucks on a Professional Tryout basis before being released by the team on September 23. A week later, on September 30, 2011, Legace signed a Professional Tryout contract (PTO) with the
San Antonio Rampage of the AHL, the minor league affiliate of the
Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League. Legace started for the Rampage for the first game of the season vs. the
Chicago Wolves, but after approximately 10 minutes he was plowed into by Chicago forward
Mike Duco, resulting in an undisclosed leg injury. He would not return to the ice for San Antonio again. On October 20, 2011, he signed a Professional Tryout contract (PTO) with the Springfield Falcons, the minor league affiliate of the
Columbus Blue Jackets and the team he played for in the mid-1990s. Legace finished his career as the backup goaltender in Springfield, after which he briefly served as an intern in the Columbus front office. == Retirement ==