The latest of many Anže Kopitar tributes, as he nears the end of two decades in a Los Angeles Kings jersey — with two Stanley Cup championships, individual trophies and many statistical milestones — came on Saturday after the Kings’ final regular-season home game.
But this tribute wasn’t done for him. It was by him, to an adoring crowd at Crypto.com Arena that stuck around and hung on each word as it celebrated one of the greatest Kings players of all time instead of rushing out to battle the L.A. traffic.
“First of all, on behalf of the whole team, the players, the organization, thank you guys for supporting us through, I guess, the good, the bad and the ugly,” Kopitar said, choking up and becoming tearful as he spoke. “You guys have always been here and always had our heartbeat. Thank you. I guess, second of all, we’re going to do our absolute best to come home for a couple more games in the playoffs, that’s for sure. And then, from the bottom of my heart, thank you very much. This has been my home for 20 years.”
Later, within the quiet of the dressing room, Kopitar, the Kings’ 38-year-old captain, acknowledged that while he did think about his speech throughout the afternoon, he couldn’t remember the words of that moment.
“To be completely honest with you, I don’t know what I said,” he said. “I kind of blacked out. I know there was a bunch of thank-yous in there.”
Being the center of attention isn’t one of Kopitar’s natural instincts. It is deserved, though. He has the most points in Kings franchise history. He won two championships, two Selke trophies, three Lady Byng trophies. He set multiple team records as he became Slovenia’s first NHL product — and its greatest.
Kopitar announced on the opening day of Kings training camp that this would be his final season. Throughout it, many opponents honored him in handshake lines, immediately after a 60-minute (or more, in many cases) fight for two points.
It was the ultimate sign of respect.
Opponents regularly lined up to salute Kopitar after games this season. (Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
“Sometimes, obviously, it’s not an ideal time because we’re trying to take each other’s head off in the game and then after that you’re shaking hands with them,” Kopitar said. “But I appreciate the recognition, the respect and everything. Again, sometimes it’s hard because a team has to lose, right? Maybe I’m not in the best mood. Maybe they’re not in the best mood. I think it just shows that it’s better than just the game. It’s the respect toward your peers. And it’s been pretty cool. It’s been overwhelming to say the least. I’ve enjoyed it.
“I have a ton of respect for every guy that I’ve obviously played against. I guess to show that in a way that the teams are showing towards me is very, very humbling.”
Kopitar isn’t done yet. The Kings have three more road games, starting Monday night in Seattle, and are in position for a wild-card playoff spot. But the end is nearing. The Athletic spoke to notable individuals from Kopitar’s past and present to get a sense of his impact on them and on the sport of hockey.
Dave Taylor
Former Kings GM (drafted Kopitar in 2005)
I first saw Anže in his draft year. He was 17 years old and it was toward the end of the season in 2005. He played in the men’s World Championships with Slovenia and I went over to Austria. The tournament was there and their pool was playing up in Innsbruck, so I took the train up and watched a couple of games. He was the best player on their team when he was 17 years old. Scored against Finland in that tournament and just a real strong two-way player.
Through the summer, he moved rapidly up our draft list and then when we went to the combine in Buffalo and had a chance to speak with him. In my 30 years doing that side of the game, probably the most impressive interview I’ve ever sat in. When he comes in the room, he’s physically imposing. He’s big and strong and powerful. He was from Slovenia so we weren’t sure what to expect but his English is better than mine and he talked like a coach. I know his dad was a coach for many years and his dad played and his brother played, so he came from a hockey background, a hockey family. Was just so professional and so composed.
We had high expectations. We really liked him as a player, and we felt we were drafting a true No. 1 center. And I think when you do that and a player is 17, turning 18, you hope they could play for 10 years. Nobody dreamed he’d be playing for 20 years. I had an opportunity to play with Marcel Dionne for a lot of years. Marcel’s numbers seemed like they were out of reach for anybody in Los Angeles, but Anže over 20 years ends up with more career points than Marcel had. It’s amazing to me.
Drew Doughty
Kings teammate (2008-current)
I’ve had so many amazing moments with Kopi, on the ice, off the ice. I can’t even put my finger on one moment. Just the one thing that’s always amazed me about him is how level his head stays at all times. He doesn’t get too low, he doesn’t get too high, he just stays level. And I’m the exact opposite. Always looked up to him for that. And if I needed someone to talk to, he’s always been there for someone to talk to, to keep me level-headed. But I’ve always been amazed that he can do that.
Obviously, in my opinion, he would be the greatest to ever do it. But I didn’t see a lot of those guys play back in the day, so I can’t really say it. Best player I’ve ever played with. Will probably be the best player I have ever played with, no matter what happens. I’m very thankful to be right beside him for a lot of his career. Be sad to see him go.
Brian Boyle
Kings teammate (2005-09)
We were coming up in development camp together. I think it was his first camp after he was drafted. The Kings were trying to sign me. I remember getting an email from him when he went back home, and it was like, “Man, this kid is impressive.” He’s just such a professional. And I was older than him. It was impressive to me and throughout the years seeing him, running into him, all the success he’s had — how great he is. How many heads he turned in that development camp and then in his rookie season where they probably expected to put him in Manchester. And he was their first-line center.
Nothing else ever really changed with him and his humility. It’s no secret as to why he’s so revered and I just always appreciated his game. I could go on and on about how good of a hockey player he was. He never changed as a person. Great competitor and you see the consistency that he’s had in his game for so many years. It’s who he is as a person. He’s had that since a very young age and it’s always impressed me just how humble he is, how inclusive he is and how easy he was to just to be around. He’s a superstar.
I’m sure other players have said it, but I’m bummed out it’s his last year. I wish he kept going because he can. As a 35-, 36-, 37-year-old or a 19-, 20-year-old, he’s the same guy. People are going to gravitate toward him. There’s a leadership quality there. He’s a guy you want to be around and soak up whatever superpowers he’s given off to try to be more like him.
Jonathan Quick and Kopitar formed a tight bond as longtime teammates. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Imagn Images)
Jonathan Quick
Kings teammate (2005-23)
(I remember) the amount of time we spent together and played together. He’s family. His wife’s family. The kids are family. You spend that much time with a guy and go through the ups and downs that this league throws at you and he’s been alongside me the whole ride. It’s us. He is special to me and my family.
Obviously, from the fans’ perspective, they see him play hockey all the time and how amazing he is on the ice. I consider myself lucky to know him away from the game and how great of a person and teammate he is. He’s a guy that you’ll keep in touch with the rest of your life.
You think about what he’s done over his career and that role that he’s filled. He’s been a first-line center for 20 years. He’s been elite both offensively and defensively. And he’s a huge reason that we’re able to have the success that we had.
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
To this day, he’s still a guy who produces but he’s also a guy that’s really responsible. Wants to take care of his own end. Plays against other team’s top guys. It’s a lot of respect for him as a person, as a player. What he’s accomplished, he’s probably one of the most underrated guys out there for what he’s done and the career that he’s had. It’s always a challenge going up against him.
You know, from going up against guys night to night, what challenges that they present. He’s obviously a threat to score against you and you’ve got to be willing to compete that way on that side of the ice. But even to produce against him, I think he’s a guy that takes a lot of pride in (his defense). He’s obviously won and knows what it takes. Know that that’s a big part of the game, too.
He’s always had a mature game, even from when he first came in. He wasn’t one of those guys who had to kind of grow into it. He’s someone who’s always been a pretty big force physically and he’s used his size to his advantage. Really at both ends of the ice. Definitely a guy that you feel it when he leans on you, that’s for sure.
Quinton Byfield
Kings teammate (2020-current)
He’s meant so much to this organization and just to myself as well. He’s taught me a ton, but the one thing I take away is just his whole demeanor. He stays never too high, never too low. It’s a cliché but he’s always just even keel and level-headed. That’s something that I can get better at and something that I’ve learned from, what I’m working on, too.
He does everything well. I’ve never seen a guy pick up passes better than him, either. Backhand, forehand. Faceoffs. He does it all. Nobody can touch it from him when he has the puck, shielding the pill. Defense, offense. He has everything covered. Penalty kill, power play. That’s the guy.
I think something Kopi always does for me is, my family’s not here for some of the Thanksgivings, some of those big holidays. He always invites me over. I’m always appreciative of that. When we were over there last year, I think it was me and Spenny (Jordan Spence). Luka Dončić came by. That was a good one. It was unbelievable.
Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins/Florida Panthers
He’s a great player. He kind of hides under the radar. Listen, everybody in the hockey world knows who he is. Knows he’s had an unbelievable career. He’s going to be a Hall of Famer. But you kind of go under the radar a little bit in the West. If he’s in Toronto or Boston, Chicago, New York, he is going to be all over the place. Bergy (Patrice Bergeron) is probably the best two-way player to ever play the game, and Kopitar is right behind him. He’s an unbelievable two-way player. The fact that he’s still producing the way he is extremely impressive.
I see a lot of similarities between him and (Aleksander) Barkov. Big guys. Very steady, both ends of the ice. That’s why they won a couple Cups. He’s such a big part of that and being competitive for so long because of his leadership and the way that he plays the game. Unfortunately for him, he was competing all those years against Bergy. When you’re playing against a guy like that who is at the highest level and, like I said, the best of all time to do it, sometimes you just take a back seat and it doesn’t mean that he’s not one of the greatest to ever do it. In sports, it’s unfortunate that he and Bergy were doing at the same time. It would have been great to see him do it before or after so they each have their time to shine and be the guy.
Everyone in the hockey world loves (Kopitar) and knows him. He’s had an incredible career. He’s got 1,200, 1,300 points, something crazy like that. When you have a guy that’s that responsible but also that much of a threat, that makes it very difficult all over the ice because you’re never going to get easy plays. You’re not going to get any easy plays to the net. You’re not going to get easy rushes. And then on the flip side, if you cheat, he’s going to make you pay. He’s just a great player kind of all throughout the game.
Gašper Kopitar
Anže’s younger brother
Obviously, he means a lot for the sporting side, but I don’t judge him on what he does on the ice. It’s what kind of dad he is, what kind of husband, what kind of brother he’s become. He moved here when he was, what, 19, and just to see him grow into different roles throughout his life is just — I’ve said it many times. Yes, his hockey’s great. He’s a great hockey player and everything. But I’m more proud of the man he’s become. The father that he is, the husband that he is.
He moved as a 16-year-old away from home to Sweden, so that will either make you or break you. It made him into a human, into an adult. Basically, a mature adult. He hasn’t changed a whole bunch. Still the same guy. Still likes to have fun. Great hockey player but an even better person.
Super proud of him. Twenty years is a long time — 1,500 whatever games it is, that’s a lot of everything. Dedicated everything that he had. It’s super cool to see that people do appreciate it and, I mean, they’ve had a long successful run here, too. Hopefully they get in (the playoffs) and they can write something like what it was in 2012 again. That’d be a nice send-off.
Todd McLellan
Kings coach (2019-24)
Kopi is the whole package. I think I know how he was before he won, but now I really understand him after he won. He’s all about winning, and it’s not about him winning a trophy or him winning a scoring championship. It’s about the group being able to win with him. You know he sacrifices things, his own personal accomplishments, so teams can win.
You hear that about championship captains and leaders all the time, and Kopi personifies that. Really intelligent player. He gets the game. He understands all the intangibles. Momentum, fatigue. Little things about puck management. Quite easy to coach. Pleasure to coach.
Patrice Bergeron, former Boston Bruins center
As I said many times, I’ve respected his game since he came in the league. I think his game has matured and grown. It’s been a pleasure to watch. For me, a pleasure to share the ice with him and play against him. We had some battles, but I think there’s mutual respect. He’s a special player and a special person.
I don’t think I need to say this but he’s a sure-shot Hall of Famer. I hope he gets it. Because for me, there’s no question that he should. In this generation, he is one of the top players that I can think of that has had the impact that he’s had. I don’t know what you’re watching if you don’t think that he’s up there.
Trevor Moore
Kings teammate (2020-current)
You hesitate to compare him to (Wayne) Gretzky, but guys who make huge impacts in an area like this that wasn’t the traditional hockey market, I think he’s definitely up there. A guy that I watched when I was younger (growing up in Southern California). Just a great person, role model and really done a lot for Southern California hockey.
It was really exciting when they drafted him. He was a guy who I remember his first game, big goal against Anaheim. Yeah, he was the guy who you felt kind of could change a franchise, and he did, so that was really cool. I’ve said this before. They say don’t meet your heroes. Kopi — he is who you think he’s going to be. He’s just a good person and a great role model and I’ve been really lucky to play with him.
