Kyle Garcia 
With training camp just around the corner, we are previewing each player on the LA Kings roster. Up next: Anze Kopitar!
Anze Kopitar
Birthdate: August 24, 1987
Birthplace: Jesenice, Slovenia
Height: 6’3
Weight: 225 lbs
Position: Center
Shoots: Left
Draft: 1st round, 11th overall, 2005 NHL Entry Draft
2022-2023 season
The captain led the LA Kings in scoring for the 15th time in his 17-year career as a King. The only other player in NHL history to lead a franchise in scoring for at least 15 seasons was Gordie Howie, who did it 17 times. I mean, what more can you say about Kopitar? He plays a 200-foot game and leads the team in scoring, all while playing first-line center minutes and matching up against the opposing team’s best players. At age 35, Kopitar reached the 70-point mark for the eighth time in his career, recording 28 goals and 46 assists for 74 points.
In six games in the Kings’ first-round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers, Kopitar recorded seven points. However, four of the seven points came in the first game of the series as Kopitar scored three goals the rest of the series after. Game one was his only multi-point performance of the series. His best moment of the season came in a Kings 6-5 comeback shootout victory against the Winnipeg Jets on February 28th when he recorded his second four-goal game of his career.
FOURTH (4th) GOAL of the game for Anze Kopitar 😱 pic.twitter.com/D8izyOsOk8
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) March 1, 2023
Anže Kopitar (1) finds the loose puck and pokes it over the goal line for a power-play goal, tying the game with 17 seconds left in the third period.
Assists:
Phillip Danault (1)
Viktor Arvidsson (1)#GoKingsGo #LetsGoOilers #StanleyCupPlayoffs #EDMvsLAK pic.twitter.com/MNMhCaXhH5— LA Royalty (@LARoyalty1967) April 18, 2023
2023-2024 outlook
HE'S STAYING H👑ME.
We've signed the Captain to a two-year contract extension!
Read more 📰 https://t.co/Hqrpn8mOzx pic.twitter.com/hHrGNcThX2
— LA Kings (@LAKings) July 6, 2023
Kopitar will be returning for his 17th season with the Kings and with a new contract extension he signed in the summer. Kopitar’s extension will kick in at the start of the 2024-2025 season with an annual average value (AAV) of $7,000,000 for two years. Kopitar will resume his top-line center role with Adrian Kempe and Quinton Byfield playing alongside him while also seeing time on both the power play and penalty kill. Playing for one organization for 16 seasons means it’s milestone watch time. Kopitar has the chance to be the all-time leader in Kings history in games played and assists, second in points, and 400 career goals.
We're on milestone watch for LA Kings captain Anze Kopitar this season:
– 5 games away for most all-time in Kings history (Currently at 1,292 games)
– 7 goals away from 400 (Currently at 393 goals)
– 10 assists away for most all-time in Kings history (Currently at 748…
— Kyle Garcia (@Kopitar4HOF) September 20, 2023
A chance to reach four milestones in one season is remarkable. Greatest King of all time? Absolutely. When his career is done, you can guarantee his number being retired and a statue outside of Crypto.com arena. Enjoy and cherish these possible last few years of watching Kopitar play because we may never see another player like him don an LA Kings uniform again.
Featured image credit: Icon Sportswriter via Getty Images