Jason LaBarbera Looks Back At LA Kings Career

Photo credit: Mike Zampelli/LetsGoKings.com

While many fans remained disgruntled with the NHL and-or the NHLPA for the lost season, many more were just excited to have hockey back following the 2004-05 lockout season. Fans of the Los Angeles Kings were no exception to this.

While they had missed the playoffs in both of their previous two seasons, the Kings had welcomed some new faces that piqued the interest of their fans. This included Craig Conroy, (rest his soul) Pavol Demitra and a pair of netminders: Mathieu Garon and Jason LaBarbera.

With Garon acquired the previous June, the Kings added free agent LaBarbera to the fold in August 2005, shortly after the lockout had ended.

Selected in the third round (66th overall) by the New York Rangers in the 1998 Draft, LaBarbera had finished up a successful junior career in the Western Hockey League before finding success in the AHL.

In the American League as a member of the Hartford Wolf Pack, LaBarbera would win the Baz Bastien Award and the Les Cunningham Award and as the league’s best goaltender and the league MVP, respectively. The following season, LaBarbera would take home the Hap Holmes Award, finishing the year with the lowest goals-against average in the AHL. He would also suit up for the Rangers for five games.

King Jason

While the Kings had struggled on the ice during his tenure, Jason LaBarbera had nonetheless become a fan favourite, standing out due to his lanky 6-foot-3 frame but also for his unique mask with a sharp curve on the chin.

I recently spoke with Jason LaBarbera who was happy to reminisce about his time in the Kings’ organization.

So, what piqued the former goaltender’s excitement about signing with the Kings in 2005?

“Just getting a chance to play in the NHL full-time for the first time.” LaBarbera said. “Getting the chance to play full-time in L.A. would be one [of my fondest memories] for sure. Also, getting to play with some great players there in my first year [with the Kings]: older guys like Luc Robitaille and Jeremy Roenick was great, too.”

For many players who join the Kings, one prevalent factor is having the opportunity to work in a different climate.

After spending his junior career in the rainy Pacific Northwest and his early professional career in snowy Connecticut and New York, LaBarbera certainly learned to appreciate the sunny beaches of southern California. Of course, the native of Burnaby, B.C., did need some time getting used to going to practice in shorts and flip-flops.

“Any time you get to come to the rink in shorts and flip-flops, it’s a nice perk,” LaBarbera admitted. “It was weird at first, for sure, coming from Canada and the east coast, Hartford and New York, where you’re used to snow and wearing pants and that sort of stuff. So, coming to the rink in shorts at first was a little odd, especially when it’s December and January, but being able to do that on a daily basis was pretty nice, especially living in the Manhattan Beach area being that it’s such a nice place to live.”

The LaBarbera Chin

While this writer was admittedly unsure whether or not he was the first to don it, there is no denying that LaBarbera came to popularize the curved-chin mask he had sported throughout his pro career. Additionally, while this writer does enjoy interesting origin stories, the former netminder was unable to offer any fascinating tales of his preferred mask type.

“You know, it’s funny: now that I’m coaching, I always get the young guys asking me about that thing,” LaBarbera said, laughing. “I honestly have no idea how it came to that. It was just– as the years went by, whatever mask that showed up, I started using. I don’t remember if one time I complained about something or I didn’t like something and they made it a certain way for me, but I think it kind of became known as ‘The LaBarbera Chin’. So, I don’t know. Even when I was playing, I didn’t really notice it. It was just the mask that I had. The one thing I loved about [the mask design] was that there was more room to work with for paint jobs.”

The latter part certainly came in handy for the former netminder.

During his playing career, his love for Metallica and the WWE were on full display on LaBarbera’s masks. The now-39-year-old even honoured the late Pat Tillman on a mask worn while a member of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Making the Most as a Monarch

In 29 games with the Kings in 2005-06, LaBarbera posted an 11-9-2 record with a 2.89 goals-against average and one shutout. But, what looked like a springboard for a second season in Los Angeles turned into the big netminder returning to the AHL — this time with the Manchester Monarchs — for the 2006-07 campaign.

Yet, while many would have seen this as a step backwards, LaBarbera made the most of his time with the Monarchs.

“That was one of the funnest years of hockey I’ve had,” an enthusiastic LaBarbera noted. “It was unfortunate as far as the situation goes. At the time, [the NHL] had that waiver rule where you had to clear waivers to get called up. I kind of got stuck in Manchester that year because [the Kings] didn’t want to expose me to waivers. The one thing that was kind of good about it, in terms of mentality, was that I knew I was going to be [in Manchester] all year, so I knew I had to dig in and really try to improve my game, especially coming off the year before where I was in L.A. the whole year.

“So, at first, it was a bit of a jolt, obviously: to go from the NHL one year to [the AHL] the next year and you’re kind of stuck there. But, we had an awesome team and we got to the conference finals that year. My goaltending partner that year was Barry Brust, who I’m still friends with to this day. He actually lives in Calgary now and I see him quite often in the summers. Our coaching staff was really good with Mark Morris and Scott Pellerin.”

As great as his playing career with the Monarchs was, though, LaBarbera was quick to point out that his enjoyment in southern New Hampshire was not limited to his team’s on-ice success.

“One thing back then, too: Manchester — and it’s too bad now because there’s no team there anymore — the fanbase was awesome.” LaBarbera emphasized. “[The Monarchs] had an awesome building (SNHU Arena) and it was a fun place to play. I know that when I was in Hartford always going [to Manchester], it was an awesome atmosphere. It’s sad that there’s no team there now but it was an awesome year for me. I played a lot of hockey that year — I think I played 62 games that year — and when you get to play that much hockey, it’s certainly enjoyable but also having success both professionally and personally makes it enjoyable, too.”

In those 62 games, LaBarbera posted a very impressive 39-20-1 mark to go in hand with a 2.20 GAA, a .933 save percentage and seven shutouts.

Despite returning to Los Angeles where he played 45 games in 2007-08, LaBarbera would be traded to the Vancouver Canucks halfway through the 2008-09 campaign before spending the next four seasons with the aforementioned Coyotes. Then, after a stop in Edmonton, LaBarbera would return to southern California, albeit briefly with a five-game stint with the Anaheim Ducks.

Jason the Hitman

Jason LaBarbera would retire following the 2015-16 season and return to the WHL where he would join the Calgary Hitmen as their goaltending coach.

Now entering his fourth season with the club, I asked LaBarbera how he’s enjoyed the coaching ranks thus far.

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” said the player-turned-coach. “I’ve been lucky as far as being able to transition into [the coaching ranks] pretty quickly from retiring. I’ve always spent my summers living in Calgary, so now I get to stay here and live and not have to move my family right now and get to work in the city I live in, which is a huge thing.”

Convenience may have played a factor in LaBarbera’s role with the Hitmen but the former King held no reservations in expressing his passion for being a leader and a teacher. Using his own experiences to guide the stars of tomorrow on the right path, LaBarbera was quick to point out what the most rewarding parts of being a major-junior goaltending coach is.

“Just being able to work with young guys now, trying to help them get better every day and help them get through the process with a lot of the things I learned along the way. I’m still learning, too.” LaBarbera continued. “I mean, just because you played doesn’t mean that you know everything, so you’re constantly learning, constantly learning to get better and obviously, you’re helping your guys get better, too. It’s certainly a lot different from playing as far as the amount of time that you have to put into it. It’s certainly a busy lifestyle as you’re at the rink, which is obviously an awesome thing as I’ve been at the rink my whole life and it’s no different.

“It’s been a good transition for me, for sure, and I certainly enjoyed it and I’ve been lucky with a lot of the opportunities I’ve been given in the last couple of years. It’s no different than playing: you keep growing and getting better and to improve every game. So, that’s the mindset I have now as a coach.”

During his 11-year career, Jason LaBarbera spent parts of three seasons with the Kings. In that time, the big man posted a 33-40-8 record to go along with a 2.93 GAA, a .904 save percentage and four shutouts. Yet, while these may not have been the greatest years on the ice for the Kings, LaBarbera nonetheless relished his time with the organization, speaking very highly of his former team.

While he had mask designs honouring Metallica while with the Kings, LaBarbera’s aforementioned love for the WWE included homages to multiple stars including his current team’s namesake, and Calgary native, Bret “Hitman” Hart.

With this in mind, this writer couldn’t help but ask whether there was an ulterior motive for joining the WHL’s Hitmen, a team originally co-owned by Hart.

“Just a coincidence that I’m now coaching the Hitmen,” an amused LaBarbera assured me, although he did admit that he has always been an avid fan of the five-time WWE champion.

A towering presence on the ice, a fan favourite off the ice and just an all-around good, well-grounded man, Jason LaBarbera enjoyed his NHL career to the fullest and continues this in his second career in developing hockey’s future between the pipes. After all, when it comes to enjoying life both professionally and personally with his family, to Jason LaBarbera, as Metallica’s James Hetfield so famously sang, nothing else matters.

Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Kings and the rest of the SoCal sports teams! All Cali, All the time

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