The 37-year-old forward is in his 18th NHL season, all with Los Angeles, which qualified for the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. The Kings (44-27-11) will play the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference First Round.
"I'm just at a place where I'm proud of my accomplishments," Brown said Friday. "I'm proud of this group here too. Just to go out in the playoffs, that helped. If we hadn't made the playoffs, this decision might have been a little more difficult for me to make, but for me to play a meaningful game, whether it ends with a win or a loss, that was important. It made the decision easier once we clinched because I knew I was going to get to play some playoff hockey, which is kind of what I said to the guys is, '18 years, this might be the opportunity.' Unless your name is (former Detroit Red Wings defenseman) Nick Lidstrom, they don't come around every year."
Brown has 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 64 regular-season games this season. He missed 14 games with an upper-body injury.
Brown had three shots on goal and played 18:26 in his final regular-season game, a 3-2 overtime loss at the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. The Kings made Brown captain for the game; he had been their captain for eight seasons (2008-16).
"'Kopi' (current captain Anze Kopitar) had already arranged that," Brown said. "He asked me first. I said I'd appreciate that [as] more of, I think, a nod to our relationship more than anything else. It's not really about the 'C.' It's about the relationship we've had considering the history. ... Kopi, he's just my boy. Whether he wears the 'C' or I wear the 'C,' stuff like that happens. People ask like, 'Oh, is that gonna affect the relationship?' We didn't talk about it one day."
Selected by the Kings in the first round (No. 13) of the 2003 NHL Draft, Brown has 712 points (325 goals, 387 assists) in 1,296 regular-season games, ranking first in games, sixth in goals, seventh in points and eighth in assists in Los Angeles history.
Brown helped the Kings to two Stanley Cup championships. He scored 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 20 games when Los Angeles defeated the New Jersey Devils in six games to win their first title in 2012, and 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 26 games when they defeated the New York Rangers in five games in 2014.
Brown has scored 47 points (19 goals, 28 assists) in 85 postseason games.
"As far as importance to the organization, I'm not sure there's anybody that has been more important," general manager Rob Blake said. "To be able to be a captain of the team that you're drafted by, developed by, and to celebrate two Stanley Cups, and to decide on your own when it was time to go out, it's special."
As for when Brown's No. 23 might be retired by Los Angeles, president Luc Robitaille said, "It'll be quick. I mean, it's well earned and what he's done for this franchise is something that we're gonna have to look at. But we haven't even talked about it because we're moving on (to the playoffs), but if you were to ask me, his number is going to be in the rafters and it's going to be a very special night for everyone."
NHL.com independent correspondent Dan Greenspan contributed to this report
