Career Vitals

Career NHL Statistics

Teams: Pittsburgh, Washington
Years: 1970-1981. Playoffs: None

Career Highlights

Scored first NHL goal against Hall of Famer Tony Esposito in Pittsburgh's Feb. 13, 1971, game vs. Chicago. ... Led Hershey and finished sixth in AHL with 170 penalty minutes in 1972-73. ... Won AHL Calder Cup with Hershey in 1974. ... Played on first Washington Capitals team in 1974-75 but did not make Capitals debut until team's third game on Oct. 14, 1974, he scored Washington's first NHL goal at home. The goal, at 4:36 of the second period, gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead over Los Angeles in a game that ended in a 1-1 tie. The tie gave Washington its first-ever NHL standings point. ... Served as Washington alternate captain from Jan. 2, 1975, until Jan. 23, 1976. ... Led Washington with 182 penalty minutes in 1974-75. ...Led Washington defensemen in goals (4), assists (23), and points (27) in 1974-75. ... Named Washington Most Popular Capital by fan vote for 1974-75. ... Named Washington captain on Jan. 23, 1976, and remained in that position until Nov. 4, 1978. ... Led Washington with 146 penalty minutes in 1975-76. ... Named Washington Most Popular Capital by fan vote for 1975-76. ... Won the inaugural Washington Best Defenseman Award for 1976-77. ... Named Washington Most Popular Capital by fan vote for 1976-77. ... Was only original Capitals player still with the team by start of the 1979-80 season. ...  Retired from NHL with Washington records (since broken) for career games (334) and career penalty minutes (756)

Retired Sweater Number

Labre, the last member of the original Washington Capitals to play continuously for the team as of his retirement in 1981, had his No. 7 sweater retired by the Capitals while he was still an active member of the team -- prior to a Nov. 22, 1980, game vs. Boston. The game was the 500th game in Capitals franchise history, and the retirement of the number came as a total surprise to Labre, who was first told he was going to present a trophy to Washington broadcaster Ron Weber. Then owner Abe Pollin surprised Labre with the announcement about the No. 7, making him the first player in Capitals history to have his number retired. Following his retirement, Labre was honored again in a formal ceremony prior to Washington's Nov. 7, 1981, game vs. the New York Rangers, as his No. 7 was raised to the Capital Centre rafters.

Transaction History

June 12, 1974 -- Claimed by Washington from Pittsburgh as first defenseman selected in the 1974 NHL Expansion Draft.

Significant Injuries

Missed part of 1967-68 season with broken wrist. ... Missed part of 1969-70 season with dislocated wrist and two broken fingers. ... Missed part of 1971-72 season with knee injury that required surgery. ... Missed first two games of 1974-75 season with shoulder injury. ... Missed part of 1976-77 season with separated shoulder. ... Missed part of 1977-78 season with knee injury that required surgery. ... Missed four months of 1979-80 sesaon with torn cartilage in right knee, an injury suffered in November 1979. The injury required surgery. Missed part of 1980-81 season with re-aggravation of right knee injury, suffered in October 1980. ... Missed remainder of 1980-81 season with re-aggravation of knee injury, suffered in Washington's Feb. 14, 1981, game vs. Montreal. Two nights earlier, he had first re-aggravated the knee when checked by Steve Patrick in a game at Buffalo. He opted to retire rather than go through major reconstructive surgery.

Life Outside the NHL

Full Name: Yvon Jules Labre
Also Known as: Ivan Labre

Other Post-Draft Teams: Baltimore (AHL); Amarillo (CHL); Hershey (AHL)

Broadcasting Career: Worked as Washington television color commentator during 1982-83 season.

Coaching Career: Named Washington assistant coach at the time or his retirement in 1981 and remained in that position through 1981-82 season.

Front-Office Career: Named Washington Director of Community Relations prior to the  1982-83 season and remaind in that position through 1994-95 season. He then stayed on working in the Washington Community Relations department as the team's Director of Special Projects from 1995 to 2000. Labre retains close ties to the organization and does regular charitable work on behalf of the team.

Career Beyond Hockey: Worked for U.S. Food Brokers after leaving Capitals and later went into the financial services industry, working with New York Life Insurance Co. from 2005 to 2011. ... Founded Annapolis-based Labre Capital Financial with his son in May 2011.
• Labre's profile on LinkedIn

Family: Father of former NAHL player Cory Labre.

Miscellaneous:

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