The Los Angeles Kings hosted a “major announcement” livestream on Sept. 18, and on the podium sat Anze Kopitar and his household. He introduced that the 2025-26 season might be his final and that he will retire.
Anze Kopitar will retire after the 2025–26 NHL season, he introduced 🥹
Kopitar is coming into his twentieth season, all of which have been with the Kings 👑 pic.twitter.com/ZSg1JqM4x6
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 18, 2025
Kopitar is heading into his twentieth season with the Kings after being chosen eleventh general within the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, and has been the captain for what might be 10 years upon the tip of the season. Not solely has Kopitar been an excellent offensive expertise, however he has been a perennial Selke Trophy candidate, too. He performed a key position within the two Stanley Cup runs the Kings had within the 2010s.
Kopitar is on monitor to develop into the thirty ninth participant in NHL historical past to hit 1,300 factors, as he sits simply 22 shy heading into this last season.
Kopitar said that he spoke with Dustin Brown in regards to the concept of retirement, and Brown’s response was that he was shocked Kopitar signed a two-year deal in 2023. Kopitar, now 38 years previous, has nonetheless carried out at an elite stage persistently, together with 67 factors final season and 9 playoff factors in simply six video games.
Kopitar was a part of a wave of gamers who outlined an period of hockey. All through the early 2010s, when the Chicago Blackhawks and Kings have been dominating the Western Convention and the league, Kopitar was making headlines practically each evening.
Kopitar sits close to the highest in all the offensive information for the Kings, which is very spectacular contemplating the wealthy previous of expertise they’ve had. He sits third in targets with 440, first in assists with 838, and second in factors (1,278) as he trails Marcel Dionne (1,307) by simply 29 factors.
There isn’t any doubt that Kopitar is without doubt one of the biggest Kings gamers in historical past, and after 20 glorious seasons with the Kings, he’s now hanging up the skates.
