- Anze Kopitar says he is “very happy” in retirement after 20 seasons with the Kings
- Los Angeles retires his No. 11 and unveils a bronze statue on Feb. 24, 2027
- Read below for what Kopitar said in Slovakia about closing the book
Anze Kopitar sounds like a man at peace with walking away.
The former Los Angeles Kings captain laced them up Friday in Trencin, Slovakia for Zdeno Chara’s farewell game, and at 39 he looked like one of the fitter skaters on the ice. He wasn’t buying that at all when it came up afterward.
“If I look fresh, trust me, I did not feel fresh. It’s definitely the end,” Kopitar told Michael Langr of NHL.com.
Life away from the rink is treating him just fine. Kopitar was asked how retirement has gone since he played his last NHL game in April.
“I am very happy. It’s great. Obviously, I get to spend a lot more time with my family. I get to go (watch my) kids … my son’s hockey tournament, my daughter’s figure skating competition. So, there is still life in ice arenas, but I’m enjoying it very much.”
Those family plans pulled him out of Slovakia early. Chara had a golf outing and a cycling trip lined up for his guests on Saturday, and Kopitar flew home instead.
He will be back at Crypto.com Arena in a suit soon enough. The Kings retire his No. 11 and unveil a bronze statue on Feb. 24, 2027, before a game against the Montreal Canadiens.
Kopitar becomes the eighth Kings player to get his number raised, joining Rogie Vachon, Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor, Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, Rob Blake and Dustin Brown. The statue puts him outside the building next to Gretzky, Robitaille, Brown and broadcaster Bob Miller.
The résumé earns every bit of that ceremony. Kopitar put up 1,316 points (452 goals, 864 assists) in 1,521 games, all in one uniform, and added 89 points in 107 playoff games.
Two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014. Two Selke Trophies, three Lady Byngs, and the captaincy from June 2016 until the very last shift.
March 14 was the night he passed Dionne for the franchise scoring record. His career ended April 26, when Colorado finished off a first-round sweep of the Kings.
Take a look back at the best of his 20 years in Los Angeles:
Slovenia has produced exactly two NHL players. Kopitar is one, and Jan Mursak, who managed four points in 46 games with Detroit from 2010-13, is the other.
That is why the 2016 World Cup of Hockey stuck with him. Kopitar captained Team Europe to the final alongside Chara, Marian Hossa and Mats Zuccarello, and he called playing with those guys instead of against them the fun part.
Kings fans get one more night with him on Feb. 24.
