Anze Kopitar announces retirement, becoming final season on 2025-26 – Hockey Writer – Los Angeles Kings

The King of Los Angeles presided over the “Major Announcement” on September 18, and sat Anze Kopitar and his family on the podium. He announced that the 2025-26 season will be his last and he will retire.

Anze Kopitar will retire after the 2025-26 NHL season, he announced 🥹

Kopitar entered his season 20, all of which were with the Kings. pic.twitter.com/zsg1jqm4x6

– SportsNet (@sportsnet) September 18, 2025

Kopitar is about to enter the Kings’ 20th season after being selected as No. 11 in the 2005 NHL admission draft and becomes captain for 10 years at the end of the season. Not only is Kopitar an outstanding offensive talent, he is also a perennial Selke trophy candidate. He played a key role in the Kings in two Stanley Cup matches in the 2010s.

Kopitar is expected to be the 39th NHL history player to score 1,300 points as he entered his final season with only 22 shyness.

Copital said he talked with Dustin Brown about his retirement ideas, and Brown’s answer was that he was surprised that Kopital signed a two-year contract in 2023. Kopitar, 38, still consistently showed off his elite level, including 67 points last season, earning nine playoff points in just six games.

Kopitar is part of the wave of players that defines the hockey era. Throughout the early 2010s, when the Chicago Blackhawks and the Kings ruled the Western Conference and the League, Copital made headlines almost every night.

Kopitar is at the top of all the Kings’ offensive records, which is especially impressive considering their wealth of talent. He ranked third with a goal of 440, ranked first with 838 in assists and second with scores (1,278), and he was only 29 points behind Marcel Diony (1,307).

Copital is undoubtedly one of the greatest Kings players in history, now hanging on the skates after the Kings have 20 excellent seasons.