Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar announced on Thursday, Sept. 18, that he will retire after the 2025-26 season.
The upcoming season will be his 20th in the NHL, all of which he has spent with the Kings after they drafted him in the first round (11th overall) in 2005.
Kopitar, 38, ranks in the top three all-time on the team in major offensive categories and won Stanley Cup titles in 2012 and 2014. He has been captain since the 2016-17 season.
He made the announcement on the first day of practice at training camp.
‘I want to get this out of the way now, where I’m not a distraction for the team,’ he said during a news conference with his family. ‘If we’re in a fight down the stretch, the last thing I want to do is take attention from the team and put it on myself.’
The first Slovenian to play in the NHL and to win the Stanley Cup is in the final year of a two-year, $14 million contract that he signed in 2023.
He was the second Los Angeles athlete to announce a pending retirement on Thursday, following Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. Kopitar said that news caught him by surprise.
‘It must have been something in the universe for us to decide (on the same day),’ Kopitar said.
Where does Anze Kopitar rank on Kings’ scoring list?
Kopitar ranks second all-time on the Kings’ regular-season scoring list with 1,278 points and could finish the season as No. 1. He trails Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne by 29 points heading into the Oct. 7 opener.
He also leads the franchise in games played (1,454) and is first in assists (838) and game-winning goals (78) and third in goals (440). He’s second to Dionne in even-strength and power-play points and could pass him in those categories this season.
Kopitar leads Kings players in playoff games (103) and has 62 assists and 89 points and has the potential to pass leader Wayne Gretzky in those categories.
‘Yes, the numbers are good, but the goal that I’m trying to achieve and we’re trying to achieve is winning,’ he said. ‘The highs of winning surpass every high from your individual stats and individual numbers.’
Why is Anze Kopitar retiring?
Kopitar said he will retire so he can spend more time with his wife, Ines, and two children, Neža and Jakob.
‘We have a figure skater and a hockey player on our hands, so I want to be present for them,’ he said.
The family plans to move back to Slovenia, where his parents and extended family live.
Though the timing of the announcement could set up a retirement tour, Kopitar said his focus will be on the season and trying to win a third championship.
‘I’m looking extremely forward to this next season,’ he said. ‘I still have a lot of motivation. I’ve got a lot of energy and desire to compete at the very highest level.’
Will Anze Kopitar be a Hall of Famer?
Yes and potentially on the first ballot. In addition to the two championships (as an alternate captain), he has won the Selke Trophy twice as top defensive forward and the Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship) three times, including in 2024-25. He also won the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award in 2021-22.
He was captain of Team Europe in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which lost to Canada in the final.
