Anze Kopitar has made it official.
There’s certainly been buzz, there’s certainly been speculation and there have certainly been some not all that subtle hints.
"This could be my last season in the NHL, yes."
Anze Kopitar tells @jaimemaggio on the Sports Central Podcast his 20th year with the @LAKings might be his final one. Full podcast comes out tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/ntzfwipA2H
Today, after the first practice of the 2025-26 LA Kings season, captain Anze Kopitar has made it official that it will be the last first practice of his NHL career. Kopitar announced today that he will be retiring from the NHL at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.
It’s honestly crazy to be typing that out. This is Anze Kopitar. For those who have followed this team for his entire career, longer than I’ve been writing about the Kings, he’s just been an absolute staple of not only the Kings but the entire NHL. It’ll be strange to imagine the Kings without number 11 and it’ll be strange to imagine the NHL without Kopitar involved. It was a honor to watch him for as long as I have and for many of you, it was an honor for much longer. He’s not done today, though.
82 games left of regular-season play and hopefully a lot more than that. While Kopitar is today announcing his intentions to retire at the end of the season, there’s certainly one way he wants to go out and that’s with a third championship. When speaking about his goals at the end of the 2024-25 season, at this point in his career, it’s a singular goal, not plural goals. Kopitar wants to turn two championships into three championships. It’s a long road to that point and it won’t be easy in the slightest. But that’s the goal. That’s what he’s playing for this season, in one last dance as an LA King. And that’s important. For Kopitar, while he’s saying what he is today, ultimately this is getting the announcement out of the way for what he hopes is a special seasom to follow.
Kopitar feels it’s time for him. He’s 38 years old and is approaching 1,500 career regular-season games and 1,600 in total, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Only 22 skaters in NHL history have played in 1,500 regular-season games. Only 15 of those players were forwards. Of those 15, only nine have reached the marker with at least 400 goals, 800 assists and 1,200 points to their name, marks that Kopitar has already achieved. Of those nine players, only two – Steve Yzerman and Alex Delvecchio – spent their entire careers with one club. Both played in Detroit. From a standpoint of longevity and quality, few in the history of this league have matched what Kopitar has done. In terms of impact on a single franchise, it’s hard to beat Kopitar’s on the Los Angeles Kings.
That’s plenty of words into the article without mentioning Kopitar’s two-way prowess, which is among the best of any center in NHL history. It’s a mentality and a willingness to play a role that has likely cost him a few individual goals and points along the way, but helped to bring two championships along with it. It’s not a mindset that everyone is willing to have or a style that everyone is willing to play. For Kopitar, though, it’s defined him as one of the best yet still somehow underrated players of his era. A first-ballot Hockey Hall of Famer, certainly. Among the best to lace ‘em up. He did it the right way the entire time and he’s continued to do it at a high level, whether it was his rookie season or his 19th in the NHL last year.
Kopitar is addressing the local media this afternoon with regards to his announcement. When the time comes, I’m sure there will be a lot more to say. But for today, will have his thoughts posted as best I can later on this afternoon. It’s an important moment in Kings franchise history as perhaps the best player to ever wear the uniform. I’ve got a lot of thoughts as I’m sure many of you do as well. Let’s celebrate the final year of Anze Kopitar. He deserves that and it’ll be fun to be along for that ride, a ride that is really just beginning.