Kopitar to retire from Kings after this season, his 20th in NHL

Anze Kopitar is officially entering his final season in the NHL.

Flanked by his wife and two children, the Los Angeles Kings captain announced Thursday in El Segundo, California, that he will be retiring after this season.

“After last season, I had a bit of time over the last few months to think and to talk to the family to see where the path is for me and where it's going, and after lots and lots of thinking, I’ve decided that this year is going to be my last year playing in the NHL,” Kopitar said. “With a heavy heart obviously, I’ve accepted that decision.

“These guys (wife and children) that are sitting here with me, have been with me for the past 20-plus years and now they deserve a husband and a dad to be home and present for the moments that are going to be leading up, especially for these guys (children). They’re soon going to be teenagers and we all know that’s a very important time of their lives and I want to be as present as I can be.”

Kopitar is entering his 20th season in the NHL, all with the Kings, who selected him in the first round (No. 11) of the 2005 NHL Draft. The 38-year-old center is entering the final season of a two-year, $14 million contract ($7 million average annual value) he signed July 6, 2023.

The retirement announcement came on the second day of training camp for Los Angeles.

“I just want to get this out of the way now to where I’m not a distraction for the team,” Kopitar said. “For example, if we’re in a fight coming down the stretch, the last thing I want to do is to take any attention from the team and put it on myself. I just felt this is the best time.”

A two-time Stanley Cup champion (2012, 2014), Kopitar was named Kings captain June 16, 2016, and is the first player from Slovenia to skate in the League. He and his family will be moving back to Slovenia once he retires.

“We’re both from Slovenia, the kids are excited to every summer to go there, my parents still live there, all of our extended family is there,” Kopitar said. “We’ll move back for a little bit, we’ll take some deep breaths and we’ll see where our lives take us after that.”

Kopitar had 67 points (21 goals, 46 assists) in 81 regular-season games last season, second on the Kings behind Adrian Kempe (73 points; 35 goals, 38 assists) and nine points (two goals, seven assists) in six Stanley Cup Playoff games. He won the Lady Byng Trophy, given to the most gentlemanly player, for the third time (2016, 2023) after he was assessed just two minor penalties.

Kopitar was instrumental to each of Los Angeles' Stanley Cup wins.

In 2012, he tied teammate Dustin Brown for the playoff lead in goals (eight), assists (12), points (20) and plus/minus (plus-16). Two years later, he led all players with 26 points and 21 assists. The Kings have not won a postseason series since their 2014 championship, losing in the Western Conference First Round to the Edmonton Oilers in each of the past four seasons.

“Looking back now, maybe in my wildest dreams I thought I was going to play 20 years in the NHL,” Kopitar said. “I won a couple of Cups, and to play in as many games I did and all of that, it’s a great feeling to be looking back. But there is one more year left and I want to look ahead, we’ll look back when it’s time for that.”

Kopitar ranks first in Kings history in games (1,454) and assists (838), is third in goals (440) and second in points (1,278) behind Marcel Dionne (1,307). He's first in playoff games (103), second in assists (62) to Wayne Gretzky (65), tied for second with Luc Robitaille in points (89) and third in goals (27).

Kopitar had a goal and an assist in a 6-0 win against the Minnesota Wild at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on March 20, 2024, to become the 52nd player in NHL history to reach 1,200 points. He got his 800th assist in a 6-3 win against the Vegas Golden Knights in Los Angeles on Oct. 30, 2024, making him the sixth European-born player to reach the milestone. He also won the Selke Trophy, voted as best defensive forward in 2016 and 2018, and the 2022 Mark Messier Leadership Award.

“For me I always looked at L.A. as my team, my home,” Kopitar said. “We always felt extremely comfortable here, they (children) were born here, so it didn’t really cross my mind to even think or explore to go anywhere else.

“Obviously the fact we were the first team to bring the Cup to L.A., it makes it special and then following it up with another one, those are the core memories that you can’t just ignore, even when times were a bit rough and we didn’t have a very competitive team, those memories and the guys around you that you’ve won with before, are the reason to where I didn’t think about going anywhere else. Looking back at that, I made the right decision.”

Los Angeles (48-25-9) finished second in the Pacific Division last season before losing to Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs in six games.

Kopitar hopes he can conclude his final season by winning the Stanley Cup for a third time.

“I’m looking extremely forward to this next season, I have a lot of motivation, I have a lot of energy, a lot of desire to compete at the very highest level,” Kopitar said. “And the moves that we’ve made, the moves that (general manager) Ken (Holland) made, I think we’re a better team than we were last year and I just cannot wait to get going."

NHL.com staff writer Derek Van Diest contributed to this report