Kopitar’s emotional farewell

Anže Kopitar stood at center ice on April 11 and fought back tears as Los Angeles marked his final regular-season home game after 20 seasons with the Kings. (nhl.com) The farewell came after a 1-0 Kings win over the Edmonton Oilers at Crypto.com Arena, with Artemi Panarin scoring at 7:34 of the first period and Anton Forsberg stopping 27 shots for his third shutout of the season. (lakingsinsider.com) Kopitar told fans they had supported the team through “the good, the bad, and the ugly,” then paused again when he said Los Angeles had been his home for 20 years. He also said the Kings would try to bring playoff hockey back to home ice. (nhl.com) This moment had been coming since September 18, 2025, when Kopitar announced that the 2025-26 season would be his last in the National Hockey League. He said then that he wanted to make the decision public before the season so it would not become a distraction later. (nhl.com) (espn.com) The farewell also landed in the middle of a playoff race. After beating Edmonton, the Kings held the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with three games left, according to National Hockey League coverage that night. (nhl.com) Kopitar’s career in Los Angeles spans the franchise’s modern high point: two Stanley Cup titles, in 2012 and 2014, and a run as one of the league’s top two-way centers. National Hockey League records list him as a two-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner, and league coverage from 2025 notes that he had also won three Lady Byng Trophies. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) His longevity is rare even by National Hockey League standards. When he announced his retirement, Kings coverage said he was nearing 1,500 regular-season games, and that only Steve Yzerman and Alex Delvecchio had reached similar scoring marks while spending their entire careers with one club. (nhl.com) Kopitar also leaves as the Kings’ all-time points leader. Hockey-Reference listed him with 1,311 franchise points this season, and National Hockey League coverage reported in March that he had passed Marcel Dionne’s long-standing club record. (hockey-reference.com) (nhl.com) Saturday’s send-off was not a retirement ceremony at the end of the road so much as a pause before the last push. Kopitar thanked the crowd, promised another chase for home playoff dates, and left the ice with the Kings still playing for more than a goodbye. (nhl.com)