Anze Kopitar, widely considered the greatest player in Kings franchise history and poised to become the team’s all-time leading scorer, announced Thursday he will retire at the end of the 2025-26 season.
“I just felt this is the time, but saying that, I’m looking extremely forward to this next season,” said Kopitar, who added the decision was rooted in spending more time with his family. “I still have a lot of motivation. I’ve got a lot of energy, a lot of desire to compete at the highest level.”
Kopitar said he was confident his decision would hold — even if the Kings made it all the way to Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final.
“My mind is made up. It was a hard decision,” Kopitar said. “I want to get this out of the way now, to where I’m not a distraction for the team. … I just felt that this is the best time.”
Entering his 20th season with the Kings and the final year of his contract, the decision was somewhat expected from the 38-year-old team captain. He told KCAL News last month he was thinking about retirement and that it could be his last NHL season.
Kings general manager Ken Holland told NHL Network Radio in July that Kopitar indicated he wasn’t seeking a contract extension this summer and was intending to take things a “year at a time.”
Kopitar’s announcement came only hours after Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw announced he would retire at the end of the season.
“Must have been something in the universe for us to decide to do it on the same day,” Kopitar said.
Kopitar’s Hall of Fame credentials have already been established. The greatest player ever from Slovenia, he helped lead the Kings to the franchise’s Stanley Cup victories in 2012 and 2014 as part of a core four that included Dustin Brown, Jonathan Quick and Drew Doughty.
Kings center Anze Kopitar celebrates with the Stanley Cup after the Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils to win the franchise’s first title in 2012.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Kopitar is second all-time in franchise scoring, with 1,278 points in a franchise-leading 1,454 games played. He is 30 points away from breaking Marcel Dionne’s team record for most points (1,307). He ranks third all-time in franchise goals (440) behind Luc Robitaille (557) and Dionne (550) and leads in assists (838). He is a two-time Selke trophy winner (best defensive forward) and three-time Lady Byng trophy winner (gentlemanly play).
Ultimately, Kopitar’s collective triumphs with the Kings have meant more to him than individual accolades.
“The fact that we were the first team to bring the Cup to L.A., it makes it special,” he said. “And then to follow it up with another one, those are the core memories that you can’t just ignore, even sometimes when times were a little bit rough and we didn’t have a very competitive team.
“Those memories, and the guys around you that have won with you before, those are the reasons that I didn’t think about going anywhere else.”
Drafted 11th overall by the Kings in 2005, Kopitar made an immediate impact during his 2006-07 rookie season, finishing with 20 goals and 61 points for a downtrodden team that was in the middle of a six-year playoff drought.
Eventually, with Doughty joining the team in 2008 coupled with steady growth from Brown, Quick and Kopitar, the Kings returned to the playoffs in 2010 before capturing the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2012.
Kopitar has stood out on a team that has had many greats, including NHL all-time leading scorer Wayne Gretzky.
“It’s really hard for me to sit here and say I’m the greatest King. That’s just not my personality. Far from it,” Kopitar told The Times’ Helene Elliott in 2023. “There’s been great Kings in this organization, with Marcel, Luc, Dave [Taylor], Wayne, Blakey [Rob Blake]. The list can go on for a little bit. Brownie. Individually, yes, but it’s about collective wins.”
With Kopitar’s decision, the biggest roster question facing the Kings remains whether they can re-sign Adrian Kempe to a long-term deal. Kempe, who has led the team in points the last two seasons, is in the final year of his contract.
The Kings open the preseason Sunday against the Ducks in the Empire Classic at Toyota Arena in Ontario. They begin the regular season against the Colorado Avalanche at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 7.
