Star Plaza will shine even brighter when the King of Kings, Anže Kopitar, joins the legends honored outside Crypto.com Arena this coming February, the Kings announced Friday.
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Kopitar, the Kings’ all-time leading scorer, top producer on their two Stanley Cup runs and captain from 2016 until his retirement this past spring, will be honored Feb. 24. He will have his statue unveiled on the same night his No. 11 jersey will be lifted to the rafters before the Kings host the Montreal Canadiens.
Kopitar’s will be the 15th statue in Star Plaza and the fifth pertaining to the Kings. He’ll join his close friend Dustin Brown, current Kings team president Luc Robitaille, “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky and venerated broadcaster Bob Miller as Kings legends immortalized in bronze.
He’ll also be the ninth Kings figure celebrated by a banner inside the arena, joining Brown, Gretzky, Robitaille, Miller, Rob Blake, Dave Taylor, Rogie Vachon and Marcel Dionne.
Kopitar, to whom the Southern California News Group reached out to congratulate after dinnertime in his native Slovenia, issued a statement with the announcement Friday morning.
“To have my number retired and a statue unveiled by the LA Kings is an incredible honor, and one that is difficult to put into words,” the 38-year-old Kopitar said. “When I arrived in Los Angeles 21 years ago, I simply hoped to earn the opportunity to play in the NHL. I never imagined something like this. I have been fortunate to spend my entire career with one organization, surrounded by amazing teammates, coaches, staff and fans who have made this journey so special. I share this honor with everyone who has been part of it, especially my family, whose love and support have meant everything to me. I am truly grateful to be recognized in this way by an organization that has given me so much.”
Kopitar was born to one of the most prominent figures in Slovenia’s national team, Matjaž Kopitar, and soon became the country’s prodigal hockey son. While it has produced huge stars in basketball, cycling and more, no hockey player from the country of just 2 million inhabitants has even begun to approximate Kopitar’s accomplishments.
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The match on Feb. 24 will pit the Kings against former teammate Phillip Danault on his 34th birthday and a Montreal Canadiens club that reached the Eastern Conference finals last season.
Kopitar was part of three consecutive dashes to the Western Conference finals between 2012 and 2014, a stretch that came after he sustained a season-ending injury late in the 2010-11 campaign.
He would not only pace the Kings offensively during their ascents to the summit in 2012 and 2014, but establish himself as one of the premier pivots of his era and arguably all-time between his durability, scoring, superb defense and unwavering leadership, for which he won the Mark Messier Award in 2022.
He captured the Frank J. Selke Trophy twice as the NHL’s top defensive forward and is one of just four players in league history to garner multiple Selkes in addition to amassing 1,000 or more career points. The other three are three-time Stanley Cup champion Sergei Fedorov, record-setting six-time Selke winner Patrice Bergeron and Rod Brind’Amour, who both captained and coached the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup.
Kopitar not only leads the Kings in career points but also games played, assists, game-winning goals, total goals on ice for and overall point shares. He also ranks third in goals, even-strength goals and power-play goals, as well as second in plus-minus rating and shots on goal.
“Anže Kopitar has defined what it means to be a Los Angeles King for the past two decades,” Kings President Luc Robitaille said. “His leadership, consistency and commitment to excellence have helped shape the identity of our franchise, both on and off the ice. He has earned the respect of everyone who has had the opportunity to play with him, coach him or watch him compete. Anže’s legacy extends far beyond the records, awards and championships. He has inspired generations of Kings fans and left an indelible mark on our franchise, and the Los Angeles and Southern California community. We look forward to celebrating Anže, [his wife] Ines and their family on what will be an unforgettable day in Kings history.”
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