Anze Kopitar’s 20-year Kings career closes after a 5-1 playoff loss to the Avalanche, capped by standing ovations, tears, and a legacy of two Cups.
LOS ANGELES — The last time Anze Kopitar skated out to centre ice, the sound of sticks thumping on the ice carried longer than usual, like the rink itself was trying to stretch a moment that refused to end.
For the captain, the result was brutal: a first-round playoff sweep by the Colorado Avalanche, including a 5-1 defeat that sealed the Los Angeles Kings’ season. Yet the emotions in the building told a different story too—one that centered on gratitude as much as heartbreak.
Kopitar spent Sunday in that rare space where a career is over, but gratitude is still fresh.. In the postgame hush and later in the tunnel, standing ovations didn’t fade into politeness; they kept coming.. He circled centre ice with his arm raised. soaking in the final applause from teammates and fans who had watched him grow into more than a player.. “It was hard to keep it together, really,” Kopitar said, trying to frame two decades in a single sentence.. Being part of the Kings for 20 years—more than half of his life—made the goodbye “extremely special. ” even if the hockey didn’t end the way any captain would want.
The legacy Kopitar leaves behind is written in franchise records and playoff memories. but it’s also visible in how the city speaks about him.. When he arrived in Los Angeles as a teenage outsider from Slovenia. he didn’t just join the NHL—he stayed long enough to become the standard.. Over time. Kopitar transformed from a young talent into the unquestioned heartbeat of the Kings’ identity: a family man off the ice. a steady leader in the room. and a player capable of carrying responsibility without needing the spotlight.
The numbers reflect that steadiness.. With Kopitar. the Kings have a career leader in games played. assists. points. overtime points. and game-winning goals—records that are not just totals. but proof of longevity at the highest level.. He also holds the franchise mark for postseason impact, with a franchise-record 107 playoff games.. Even as the team’s fortunes shifted across his second decade, his professional consistency never felt like it wavered.
Still, his 20th season ended in a familiar kind of pain for Los Angeles: falling short when stakes rose.. Colorado looked like the league’s best team for stretches this season. winning the series early and decisively after taking the first three games.. By Game 4. when the Avalanche jumped to a 4-1 lead late in the third period. Kopitar’s awareness sharpened—five or six minutes from the end. the idea of “next year” stopped being a comfort.. For a player who had spent two decades living in the momentum of survival and redemption, that moment was unfamiliar.
The farewell. then. wasn’t only about acknowledging greatness; it was about acknowledging what the captain meant when winning wasn’t guaranteed.. Fans in Los Angeles chanted his name repeatedly through the third period and serenaded him with “Thank you Kopi!” on a night where the Kings couldn’t manufacture the kind of comeback that would rewrite the ending.. Teammates followed suit, with standing ovations arriving on his final shifts before the horn.
Kopitar’s final moments also came with a kind of mutual respect that transcended rivalry.. Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog and stars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar joined the handshake line. and the tone was clearly personal. not ceremonial.. Brent Burns. speaking from the perspective of years spent battling Kopitar. framed him as a special person both on and off the ice—someone whose presence shaped a city’s relationship with the sport.
For Los Angeles, that relationship has a difficult next step.. Drew Doughty. now the only remaining player from the Kings’ two Stanley Cup championship teams. described the transition with the kind of honesty that doesn’t need extra emphasis: it’s tough to think about. but the career has been unbelievable.. That reaction matters because it suggests Kopitar’s value isn’t reducible to production.. He was a reference point inside the franchise—an anchor that teammates leaned on. especially when the team struggled to recreate the mid-2010s heights.
Even the timeline of his retirement carries weight.. The farewell began in September with his announcement and reached its conclusion in late April.. Kopitar has already pointed the next chapter toward Slovenia. with his family moving back to help his children pursue their own paths. including hockey and figure skating.. “They deserve that. ” he said of his kids. describing how long the balance had been shaped by a so-called part-time dad.. It’s the rare ending that feels both final and logical: a career built on discipline and purpose. now turning to family. identity. and home.
And yet. hockey fans in Los Angeles will remember the way Kopitar ended his final game: not with a dramatic last act. but with a circle at centre ice and a crowd refusing to treat an era like it was routine.. The Kings may have been swept. but Kopitar’s chapter closed with the clearest kind of proof that longevity can still earn a hero’s sendoff.