Leclaire played junior hockey in the QMJHL for the Halifax Mooseheads and the Montreal Rocket between 1998 and 2002. In the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Leclaire was selected 8th overall by the Blue Jackets and spent 2 seasons playing for their AHL affiliate the Syracuse Crunch, but did play 2 regular season games for the Blue Jackets in the 2003-04 NHL season. After the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Leclaire returned to Columbus in the 2005-06 NHL season to serve as backup to Marc Denis. On June 30, 2006, Denis was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Leclaire was promoted to primary goalie. However, secondary goalie Fredrik Norrena took over during the season and eventually played 55 games out of 82, forcing Leclaire to serve again as backup. In the 2007-2008 NHL Season, Leclaire set new team records with a NHL-leading 7 shutouts as of December 26, 2007. He also ranked second in the league for goals-against-average, and 3rd in save percentage. He has now re-taken over the number one job.