Anze Kopitar is in 20th and final season with the Los Angeles Kings, retiring as his team’s captain and a two-time Stanley Cup champion.
Kopitar will also end up being the Kings’ all-time leading scorer by the time this season is done.
Yet, like Sasha Barkov after him, Kopitar is far from a household name in the NHL unless you happen to live out west.
It is unfortunate that Western Conference teams only visit Florida once per season and can only face Eastern teams in the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Fans in the east do not get the opportunity to appreciate some great talents.
Kopitar has, like Barkov, a number of NHL awards: he has won the Lady Byng three times, and the Selke twice.
In 2022, he was awarded the Mark Messier Leadership Award.
According to hockeyfights.com Kopitar has fought only once in his entire NHL career, in a 2012 playoff game against Vancouver tough Alexandre Burrows.
Kopitar has led the Kings in scoring in 15 of his 19 seasons.
His 446 career goals places him 70th on the NHL all-time list. His total is above sharpshooters such as Hall of Famers Pavel Bure, Daniel Alfredsson, and Joe Thornton.
In 29 career games against Florida he has nine goals and 27 points. Although he has seven career hat tricks, Kopitar has never scored more than one goal in a game against Florida.
Kopitar is in the second year of a two-year deal with the Kings, which pays him $7 million a year. He has cited his desire to spend more time with his family as his main reason for retiring.
In a preseason presser he announced, “This year’s going to be my last year playing in the NHL so, it’s with a heavy heart that I accepted that decision…”
He later went into more detail.
“You reflect and you kind of imagine your path going forward,’’ he said. “I still feel very good on the ice and everything. I guess my numbers have been pretty good, but I have obviously a family at home – they probably need me just as bad if not more than the guys do on the ice. My younger boy is going to turn nine in a couple of weeks and my daughter’s going to turn eleven early next year.
“They deserve to have their dad a lot more at home than the hockey season allows so for me I guess it was not an easy decision, but it was a decision that I’m very comfortable with now because I do want to be spending time with them. I do want to be obviously home with my wife and just enjoying family time.”
Kopitar is intent on making his final tour as enjoyable as possible while the Kings again chase an elusive third Stanley Cup championship.
“Just trying to enjoy it as much as I can, really, whether that’s the last time in a certain building, the last time against a certain team, it doesn’t matter,’’ Kopitar said. “It’s just throughout the year I told myself I’m going to enjoy it, try to take it all in.’’
It is a long-standing tradition in the NHL that when a respected veteran decides to hang them up, he is entitled to a farewell tour.
Despite the intense rivalry between teams, often after the final appearance in an arena the home team to a man shakes hands with the retiring veteran and wishes him luck.
Kopitar is one of the games more popular player amongst his peers, and has been celebrated in most arenas thus far.
The Panthers will likely join that list tonight.
ON DECK: GAME No. 33
LOS ANGELES KINGS at FLORIDA PANTHERS
