The Kings icon calls time: Anze Kopitar is done
The real moment came when No. 11 skated out alone to center ice. No speech needed. The stick taps from his team-mates and the roar from the crowd said plenty. After 20 years in the same sweater, the face of the Kings took one last deep breath. The ride stops here.
“It is over”: the moment everything changed
At the press conference, the emotion was obvious. Kopitar admitted he first really understood what was happening with about six minutes left on the clock. No more talk of “we will have another go next year”. At 38, his priorities have shifted. Pointing to his two children, Neza and Jakob, he came out with a lovely line: he is moving from “part-time dad” to “full-time dad”. His new challenges? Keeping up with the kids’ competitions and learning how to handle a ponytail for his daughter.
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A legacy carved into the ice in L.A.
Kopitar is not leaving as just a good player. He goes down as the Kings’ undisputed heavyweight. 1316 points to his name, ahead of Marcel Dionne, and 1521 games played. This is a man who helped bring two Stanley Cups to California and spent a decade as one of the league’s defensive pillars. His close friend Drew Doughty, who skated alongside him for 18 seasons, sounded close to breaking down at the thought of a dressing room without its captain.
Pure class, right to the end
What sums him up best was what he did after the elimination: once he had shaken hands with the opposition, he went to greet every member of the Avalanche support staff. That is Kopitar in a nutshell. As coach D.J. Smith put it, he treats the people behind the scenes with the same respect he gives the stars beside him. He leaves with the image he wanted: a “good team-mate”. Job done for the great Slovenian.
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