For 20 years, Anže Kopitar was a mainstay and an LA Kings icon. Now, his decorated career will forever be remembered in Kings history.
Last week, the Kings announced that Kopitar’s number 11 jersey will be retired and that a statue of him will be unveiled outside Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday, February 24th, for the upcoming season. Kopitar will be the eighth Kings player to have their jersey number retired and the fourth to have a statue built for him.
Forever our 1️⃣ of 1️⃣.
— LA Kings (@LAKings) August 7, 2026
Here is where Kopitar ranks in the record books in franchise history along with his accolades:
1,521 games (1st)
452 goals (3rd)
864 assists (1st)
1,316 points (1st)
127 power-play goals (3rd)
14 short-handed goals (5th)
79 game-winning goals (1st)
7 hat tricks (6th)
107 playoff games (1st)
27 playoff goals (3rd)
62 playoff assists (2nd)
89 playoff points (T-2nd)
7 power-play goals (T-4th)
2 short-handed goals (T-1st)
1x Mark Messier Leadership Award
2x Selke Trophy winner
2x Stanley Cup champion
3x Lady Byng winner
5x all-star
No doubt that is a resume of a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. If we go back to July 30th, 2005, knowing what we know now, there is a good chance the Kings wouldn’t select Kopitar with the 11th overall pick in a redo.
In an interview with Dave Taylor back in April, he stated that he and the rest of his front office staff had Kopitar ranked third on their draft board behind forward Sidney Crosby and defenseman Jack Johnson. In fact, the Kings considered trading up, but opted to stay put at 11 after talks with Al Murray (Director of Amateur Scouting) and Grant Sonier (Assistant Amateur Scouting Director), believing Kopitar would be available at number 11.
The decision paid off, and the Kings went with the risk of drafting a 17-year-old center from a non-hockey country, Slovenia, that the teams from picks four through ten decided not to do. I firmly believe that being from Slovenia caused Kopitar to fall out of the top 10 in the draft, and if scouts and front offices had a crystal ball in front of them, he would have been selected in the top five.
From Slovenia to Los Angeles to etched in Kings lore. Congrats, Kopi!
Featured image credit: Gary A. Vasquez/NHLI via Getty Images
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