As a youth, Leclaire played in the 1996
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Rive-Nord Elites
minor ice hockey team. Leclaire played junior ice hockey in the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the
Halifax Mooseheads and the
Montreal Rocket between 1998 and 2002. Leclaire was the first goaltender selected in the
2001 NHL entry draft, chosen eighth overall by the
Columbus Blue Jackets. He subsequently bounced back and forth between Columbus and their
American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the
Syracuse Crunch, from 2002 to 2005 before finally sticking with the Blue Jackets for good in 2006, serving as a backup to
Marc Denis. On June 30, 2006, Denis was traded to the
Tampa Bay Lightning and Leclaire was promoted to starting goaltender. However, during the 2006–07 season, Leclaire suffered from a leg injury and backup goaltender
Fredrik Norrena took over and eventually played in 55 games out of 82. In
2007–08, Leclaire had an outstanding season and regained the starting goaltender job. He set new team records with nine
shutouts (second in the league only to
Henrik Lundqvist), ranked second in the NHL in
goals against average, and third in
save percentage. Leclaire finished second in fan voting among
Western Conference goaltenders for the
2008 NHL All-Star Game, but was not named to the final team. In the 2008–09 season, Leclaire injured his ankle, sidelining him for the season and the Blue Jackets promoted rookie
Steve Mason. Mason's play was outstanding, leading the Western Conference in several categories. In a playoff race, the Blue Jackets traded Leclaire to the
Ottawa Senators, along with a
2009 second-round pick in exchange for
Antoine Vermette on March 4, 2009. As expected, Leclaire assumed the role of starting goaltender with the Senators in 2009–10, once he had fully recovered from ankle surgery. However, Leclaire finished the season backing up
Brian Elliott in the Ottawa net, due to inconsistent play and injuries, including a broken cheekbone suffered from being hit by an errant puck while sitting on the bench during a game. The inconsistency and injuries worsened considerably in 2010–11 with Leclaire playing 14 NHL games and the Senators finishing the year with a top 2 tandem of goaltenders other than those who started the season with the team. During the season he underwent hip surgery. As the
2011–12 NHL season began, Leclaire remained unsigned as an
unrestricted free agent. He would ultimately sit out the entire season, unable to come to terms on a contract with any team. On November 12, 2012, Leclaire announced his retirement from ice hockey. He had undergone three operations on his right hip, from which he was not able to recover. On October 5, 2005, Leclaire allowed the first career NHL goal scored by
Alexander Ovechkin who would eventually have the record for the most goals in NHL history. ==International play==