Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Shouldn't the Flyers retire John LeClair's number?

With the announcement that newest Flyer Kris Versteeg will be wearing number 10 when he suits up for the Flyers tonight, I can't help but think of John LeClair, who wore number 10 for the Flyers for a decade. Given that LeClair scored 50 goals three times in his Flyers tenure and he accumulated 333 goals in 649 career games in the orange and black, I assumed that his number would be retired by the Flyers. Considering the Flyers gave the number to a young player like Versteeg, who could be with the team for a long stretch, retiring LeClair's jersey apparently isn't in the cards, at least in the immediate future.

Should LeClair's jersey be retired by the Flyers? While he wasn't their best player during his stretch of time with the team, he certainly is the best American player to ever suit up for the Flyers. He was also one of the best power forwards in the game and a tremendous goal scorer, so LeClair definitely has the credentials. Sure, he didn't win a Cup, but no other Flyer in the recent era did either. Perhaps the Flyers feel LeClair's success was simply a by-product of Eric Lindros?

What say you, Flyers fans, should LeClair's number 10 jersey be retired? Leave a comment below or vote in the poll to the left.

7 comments:

  1. As much as I'd love to see #10 retired for him -- as he has always been my favorite Flyer -- I don't think it's gonna happen. He did amazing things for the Flyers, but probably not enough. However, I do think he will and should be inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame. The next number up in the rafters would probably be #27.

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  2. No. The Flyers basically have a policy of retiring guys who are honored by the Hockey Hall Of Fame. LeClair's not there and is unlikely to ever be.

    Even without the HHOF, there's more deserving names. Propp, Howe, Kerr, Hextall and Leach would come before LeClair, IMO.

    Bill Barber's #7 was worn after he retired, by Brian Dobbin. Not until Barber's enshirement in the HHOF did & get hung

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  3. LeClair had 3 fantastic years - followed by more years of chronic back problems and less than sellar performance.

    No way I would retire his number.

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  4. I would definitely retire LeClair's number! First American score Fifty goals in 3 straight seasons. One Badass Vermonter!

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  5. He won a cup with the canadiens... just sayin.

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