The Los Angeles Kings announced that they have awarded their captain Anzi Kopitar a A two-year extension of $7 million each Season that will begin July 1, 2024. By keeping an important part of their squad until the end of the 2025-26 season, the Kings have given their captain a chance to continue helping bring this group deep into the playoffs.
Related: THW’s Free Agency Tracker
In his 17-year career with the Kings, he twice won the Selke Trophy and the Lady Byng Trophy, as well as the Mark Messier Award for Leadership. He is one of the best two-way centers of his generation and has amassed a huge number of points. At the age of thirty-five, he showed few signs of regression. His point totals started to drop after the 2017-18 season, but he’s always been good for 60 or more points every year since then, out of a 56-game season.
Kopitar’s eight-year deal was due to expire next summer and it was a clear priority for the team to keep him around. Director general Rob Blake described Kopitar as “…the heart and soul of this team as captain, and he will play an important role with this club.” While the Kings continue to add quality pieces to their lineup, the goal for the team and Kopitar is to have another good run in the Stanley Cup.
There was never any doubt that Kopitar would sign what could be his last NHL contract with the Kings. He has been a staple of the organization since his drafting in 2005.
Kopitar’s turn moves forward
As of today, there is no doubt that Kopitar is the supreme center of royalty. the The acquisition of Pierre-Luc Dubois It was to give the team a powerful punch in the middle, not to take their job. He will remain the kings first choice until he starts to decline – if that happens.
With a cap of $10 million this year and $7 million the following two years, making him a 38-year-old, the Kings can expect to see an elite defensive impact for every year he’s under contract. This does not go away. Those metrics alone are worth that money for the level at which he plays. The offense is bound to decline at some point, but he’s coming off a 74-point season, his highest in the past five years. This contract is a very low risk transaction, and given that it is not rated as an A “35+ decade” Since he signed him before his 36th birthday, the Kings were clear if any thoughts of retiring came before the contract was fulfilled.
Kopitar is already in the history books of kings. He is currently third all-time by a Kings player with 1,141 points, and is sure to take second place from Luc Robitaille as he is only 13 points behind. He is fourth in goals (393), second in assists (748), and will surpass Dustin Brown for the most games played in a Kings uniform in just four games next season. Many could argue he’s the best king ever, in conversation with Marcel Dion and Wayne Gretzky.
Latest news and highlights
Keeping Kopitar on lockdown quashes any potential rumors heading into next season, and the captain will likely end his run as king and continue climbing the record books.