Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings looks on
(Photo by Jenn G, CC BY-SA 2.0)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Kings captain Anze Kopitar announced he’ll retire after the 2025-26 season
  • The 38-year-old won two Stanley Cups during his 20-year career with Los Angeles
  • Read below for details on Kopitar’s announcement and legendary Kings career

The Los Angeles Kings are about to say goodbye to their captain.

Anze Kopitar announced Thursday that he’ll retire following the 2025-26 campaign, ending a 20-year NHL career spent entirely in Los Angeles. The 38-year-old center made the announcement at a press conference alongside his family, saying he wanted to get it out of the way early so it wouldn’t become a distraction.

“I want to get this out of the way now to where I’m not a distraction for the team,” Kopitar said. “For example, if we’re in a fight coming down the stretch the last thing I want to do is take attention away from the team and put it on myself.”

Check out Kopitar’s full retirement announcement press conference below. The team titled the video: “Los Angeles Kings Make Major Announcement from El Segundo, California!”

It’s a tough day for LA sports fans, to say the least. Just hours before Kopitar’s news, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw announced he’ll retire after the 2025-26 season, too.

Kopitar has been the face of the Kings since they took him 11th overall in 2005. He leads the franchise in games played (1,454) and assists (838), and sits just 30 points shy of passing Marcel Dionne for the all-time points record.

The Slovenian center was at the heart of both Kings’ Stanley Cup runs. He tied for the playoff lead with 20 points in 2012, then led all players with 26 points in 2014. Despite those dominant performances, he never won the Conn Smythe Trophy.

His trophy case isn’t exactly empty, though. Kopitar won the Selke Trophy twice as the league’s best defensive forward (2016, 2018), captured three Lady Byng Trophies for sportsmanship, and earned the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2022.

Since taking over as captain in 2016, Kopitar has kept up his elite play deep into his 30s. He posted 67 points last season and has eclipsed 70 points in two of the past three campaigns.

“I still have a lot of motivation to compete at the very highest level,” Kopitar said Thursday.

The Kings haven’t won a playoff round since their 2014 Cup run, losing to Edmonton in the first round four years in a row. With one last shot, Kopitar and LA will try to flip that script this season.

A third Stanley Cup would be the perfect ending to a Hall of Fame career.