There are very few players who become synonymous with a franchise. Fewer still who can spend two decades with the same organization and leave it difficult to imagine that organization without them.
Anze Kopitar is one of those players.
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On Feb. 24, 2027, the Los Angeles Kings will retire Kopitar’s No. 11 at Crypto.com Arena and unveil a bronze statue honoring the greatest player in franchise history. The ceremony will take place before the Kings face the Montreal Canadiens, giving Los Angeles the opportunity to celebrate a career that has come to define an era of Kings hockey.
Kopitar’s number will become just the eighth retired in franchise history, joining the likes of Rogie Vachon, Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor, Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, Rob Blake and Dustin Brown.
But the significance of Kopitar’s place among those names goes beyond the numbers hanging in the rafters.
He arrived in Los Angeles as an 18-year-old Slovenian prospect selected 11th overall in the 2005 NHL Draft. Twenty years later, he leaves the game as the Kings’ all-time leader in games played, assists and points — the captain who helped transform the organization from a franchise searching for its identity into a two-time Stanley Cup champion.
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And now, his likeness will stand outside the building he spent his career calling home.
Kopitar will become the fourth Kings player to receive a statue outside Crypto.com Arena, joining Gretzky, Robitaille and Brown. The late Bob Miller, whose statue also stands outside the arena, will remain the only non-player honored in that fashion.
For Kopitar, however, the celebration is less about what he accomplished individually than the people who helped him get there.
“When I arrived in Los Angeles 21 years ago, I simply hoped to earn the opportunity to play in the NHL,” Kopitar said. “I never imagined something like this.”
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That humility has been a defining characteristic of Kopitar throughout his career.
Kopitar did not need long to introduce himself to Los Angeles.
In his NHL debut on Oct. 6, 2006, he scored twice against the Anaheim Ducks. Three games into his career, he had already accumulated six points, becoming only the second player in Kings history to reach that mark over his first three games.
He finished his rookie season with 20 goals and 61 points in 72 games, becoming just the fifth rookie in Kings history to reach 60 points — and the first in two decades.
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He never stopped building from there.
The following season, Kopitar recorded 77 points and began a run of dominance that would eventually see him lead Los Angeles in scoring 15 times. Only Gordie Howe, with 17 seasons in Detroit, and Sidney Crosby, with 16 in Pittsburgh, have led a single franchise in scoring more often.
Wayne Gretzky led multiple franchises in scoring 19 times over his career, including nine times with Edmonton, seven times with Los Angeles and three times with the New York Rangers.
That puts Kopitar in exceptionally rare company.
It also helps explain why his retirement leaves such a massive hole in Los Angeles.
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Kopitar’s career was built on more than offensive production.
He became one of the NHL’s premier two-way centers, a player trusted in virtually every situation and against the opposition’s best players. He became a dominant faceoff specialist, a power-play contributor, a penalty-killing presence and, eventually, the player teammates looked toward when the game was at its most important.
His résumé reflects that versatility.
Kopitar won the Selke Trophy twice, recognizing him as the NHL’s best defensive forward, and collected three Lady Byng Trophies. He also received the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award.
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Then there were the two Stanley Cup championships.
The first came in 2012, when the Kings finally broke through and won the first championship in franchise history. Two years later, Los Angeles did it again.
Kopitar was at the center of both runs.
He scored one of the most memorable goals of the 2012 postseason in overtime against the New Jersey Devils in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, helping set the tone for a championship run that changed the trajectory of the franchise.
By the time he became captain in 2016, there was little question about who represented the Kings.
Kopitar wasn’t simply wearing the ‘C.’
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He was the identity of the team.
Kopitar finished his career with 1,316 points, courtesy of 452 goals and 864 assists, in 1,521 regular-season games.
Every one of those games came in a Kings uniform.
His 1,521 games are the most in franchise history, as are his 864 assists and 1,316 points. His 831 even-strength points, 79 game-winning goals, 34 overtime points and 15,237 faceoff wins also sit atop the franchise record book.
He ranks second in plus/minus at plus-127, power-play points with 457, overtime goals with nine and shots with 3,429.
His 452 goals rank third in franchise history.
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And the record that perhaps best captures his longevity came late in his career.
On March 5, 2026, Kopitar became only the 25th player in NHL history to appear in 1,500 games. Nine players had previously reached that milestone with a single franchise.
Nine days later, he passed another legend.
Playing in New Jersey on March 14, Kopitar scored twice to move his career point total to 1,308, passing Marcel Dionne’s 1,307 and becoming the Kings’ all-time leading scorer.
Dionne had held the record for more than 45 years.
Kopitar finally took it away.
It was a fitting moment for a player whose career had always been measured in longevity as much as production.
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Kopitar’s final years in Los Angeles may be just as important to his legacy as his prime.
After taking over as captain, he helped guide the Kings back to the postseason six times, including each of his final five seasons.
His playoff résumé is equally impressive.
Kopitar leaves Los Angeles as the franchise’s all-time leader in playoff games with 107. He ranks second in postseason assists with 62 and is tied for second in playoff points with 89. His 27 postseason goals rank third, while his five game-winning goals and 30 power-play points are both near the top of the franchise record book.
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He also continued to collect recognition long after the Kings’ championship years.
Kopitar earned 25 different team awards during his career, including the Bill Libby Award as the Kings’ Most Valuable Player nine times and the organization’s Best Defensive Player award eight times.
He was also named the team’s Most Inspirational Player four times and Most Popular Player three times.
Those awards tell a different story than the NHL trophies.
They reflect how the people inside the organization viewed him.
For all the numbers, championships and individual awards, Kopitar’s legacy in Los Angeles extends well beyond the rink.
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He became deeply involved in the Southern California community, supporting Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the Make-A-Wish Foundation while also playing an important role in the growth of youth hockey throughout the region.
That influence is part of why the Kings’ celebration will feel bigger than a jersey retirement.
Kopitar’s No. 11 will eventually hang alongside the numbers of the franchise’s foundational stars. His statue will join the physical monuments to Gretzky, Robitaille and Brown.
But unlike most of those players, Kopitar spent his entire NHL career in Los Angeles.
He arrived as an unknown teenager from Jesenice, Slovenia.
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He leaves as the player who played more games, recorded more assists and produced more points than anyone who ever wore a Kings jersey.
And somewhere between those two points, he became something far more difficult to quantify.
He became a King.
“His legacy extends far beyond the records, awards and championships,” Kings president Luc Robitaille said. “He has inspired generations of Kings fans and left an indelible mark on our franchise.”
That legacy will become permanent on Feb. 24, 2027.
No. 11 will go to the rafters.
Anze Kopitar will take his place among the legends.
And Los Angeles will finally get the chance to put a statue to the career it spent 20 years watching unfold.
