Kopitar talks playoffs, recovery

Posted by Rich Hammond on 26 May 2011, 1:05 pm

Here’s the latest video interview with Anze Kopitar, who talks about his experience of watching the playoffs and his recovery from his major leg surgery…

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52 Comments

KingsFanFTW says:

May 26, 2011 at 1:10 pm

nice to see Kopi i just wish we get to see Kings play already

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CB14 says:

May 26, 2011 at 1:30 pm

Get Well Soon Anze. I didn’t realize he was so emotional. I can’t wait to see his reaction when we win the Stanley Cup. Yes I said when, not if. Call me an optimist.

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therope Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
@CB14, This ^

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Sebastian says:

May 26, 2011 at 1:35 pm

love this guy!

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gmo Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 7:23 pm
@Sebastian,

love him more lol …………

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DesertKing says:

May 26, 2011 at 1:40 pm

Wow, Kopi is a union man. Get better #11 since we are going to really need you next season!

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Ravens says:

May 26, 2011 at 1:41 pm

Love this guy more and more every year, hope to never see him in another uniform as long as he plays hockey

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rick says:

May 26, 2011 at 1:46 pm

Thanks, Rich! The most important news for the Kings this summer will be that his ankle has healed completely. Say what you want about guys like Doughty and Quick, Kopitar is the straw that stirs the drink.

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CB14 says:

May 26, 2011 at 1:47 pm

Good thing he said “The goal is to win it. That’s what it is. You want to win the whole thing.” Otherwise we’d get comments on this blog questioning him about not wanting to win it all, like JJ was questioned on the other post. As Herm Edwards said, “You Play to WIN the Game”.

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Dominick says:

May 26, 2011 at 2:09 pm

I couldn’t help being distracted while he was talking. I’m no dentist, but Kopi’s K-9′s are longer than the rest of his teeth. Almost vampire like.

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Stuart Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
@Dominick, LOL I’ve noticed that before, they’re like k-9+9′s!

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Goring 19 Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
@Dominick, maybe he’s really from Transylvannia lol

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Kingsfanone Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
@Goring 19,

Not true. If so, he’d really “suck”, and Kopi does not suck!

Nuff said!

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Ravens Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 3:41 pm
Slovenia and Transilvania are only seprated by Hungary, not too far…only a few wing flaps away

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Kingstane9 Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 1:28 am
@Ravens, no. two completely different worlds, sorry. I don’t know for sure, but do they even play hockey in Romania…

USHA#17 Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 5:18 pm
@Dominick,

The Kopitar Monster.

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Ravens Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
@USHA#17, Count Kopita,,,,Plan 11 From Outer Space

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Sebastian says:

May 26, 2011 at 2:19 pm

so is Kopitar now “injury prone” like Justin Williams?

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Dominick Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 2:21 pm
@Sebastian,
LOL!

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Goring 19 says:

May 26, 2011 at 2:25 pm

I’m jonesin for next season already

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BrokeKingsFan Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
@Goring 19, tell me about it! its even tougher now that we get less threads on this site due to the offseason and lack of stuff to report. i still click the refresh button every damn 5 minutes though

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jonsey Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
@Goring 19, You’re telling me.

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Shakes says:

May 26, 2011 at 2:40 pm

I miss Kings hockey and i love Kopi

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Scot says:

May 26, 2011 at 3:19 pm

With all due respect to Stoll, the Kings’ Number One Priority this offseason should be to acquire another top line center, a 1-A, if you will. The best teams have 2 number one centers. If you look at the final four teams in the NHL this year, you’ll notice Vancouver has Sedin and Kesler. Boston has Krejci and Bergeron (not to mention Savard is hurt, so normally it would be Savard and Krejci). Tampa Bay has Stamkos and Lecavalier. And San Jose has Thornton and Marleau.

In my opinion, it’s kind of the new age key to success in the playoffs to have 2 lines that can capably put the puck in the net against any defense (along with solid D and goaltending, obvviously). The Kings barely have one line that can do that, Kopitar’s line. Which means if we lose Kopitar, we have no chance, because we don’t have another top center. Brad Richards, anyone? I also wouldn’t mind putting together a hefty package for Spezza. Say what you want about his defense, that guy can flat out take over games, offensively. I think this Kings team has enough defense and goaltending to cover up any Spezza mishaps. I think it would be worth it. Bottom line though, get another major center! Stoll should be included in the package going the other way. I do love Stolly, but I want my team to win more than anything.

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Oldthunder Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
@Scot, Spezza can take over games for the disabled list. As much as I like the guy he is made of glass.

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Ravens Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Hmmmm Shark boys need D…maybe Greene or Johnson for Pavelski…..ok I said it!

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tuan jim Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 12:54 pm
@Ravens,

Greene or Johnson for Pavelski . . . ?

You are a desperately sick toon.

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number 6 Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
@Scot,

and also… I saw a brief bit of the World Championships the other day vs. Russia. I can without question state that he made a defensive play on the tying goal that was absolutely sad. Sad. No way would I select a guy with such a huge contract and evidently feeble approach to defense. If there were no Schenn or Lokti then maybe it’s different.

Also Scot, you should read some of Quisp’s posts if you haven’t already. He did a Very Extensive breakdown of what would be necessary to get Richards as due to DD’s contract the Kings will be flush up against the cap. So he gave a list of two players the Kings would have to get rid of to clear space, and they weren’t Lewis and Westgarth.

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number 6 Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
@number 6,

Sorry, correction. He gave a list of about six players, Two of whom the Kings would have to get rid of to clear salary space.

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Scot Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
@number 6,

For sure, I’d like to read Quisp’s stuff. Is what you are referring to on his site, or somewhere on Rich’s site? I honestly don’t want to have a contract like Richards’ will be, much like how I wasn’t very excited about what the Kings were offering Kovalchuk last Summer. Players on a team need to have a “team first” attitude and take salaries that will enable the team to bring in other strong players, at least that’s what I would want.

It’s easy for me to say, but if I were Brad Richards, or Kovalchuk last Summer, I would want to take, yes a nice deal, but not a 100 million-plus deal where you won’t be able to put as strong a team around yourself. The Devils MIGHT lose Zach Parise at some point because of Kovalchuk’s contract. If you were Kovalchuk, would you want to lose a player like Parise because of you demanded so much money? I sure wouldn’t, but that’s just me. And the Kings, for the most part, have guys with the “team first” attitude, which is awesome.

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CB14 Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 5:43 pm
@Scot, Quisp’s comments were on this site under the headline, Kings sign Vey, Berube. About halfway down is quisp’s comments in response to me CB14.

CB14 Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
@Scot, I wouldn’t want Spezza personally. I would take Richards in a heartbeat though. The great thing about Richards is that he can play Center next year while Schenn continues to develope, then move to LW alongside Kopitar the following year when Schenn is ready and Smyth and Penner are both UFA’s.

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Dominick Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 9:49 pm
@CB14,
That would be my plan also, IF (big IF) it we’re possible to land him, and afford to keep him. I see the same thing. Richards playing mostly center till Schenn, or Lokti gets settled in. Then Richards would be a permanent LW, except for the PP, and PK. Lokti, and Schenn could probably take turns with their 9 game try outs before a decision on which one to keep is made (I say Lokti, if we get Richards to ease the cap issues).

DL could go statis quo, so I try not to get my hopes up too much. Can’t help but imagine the possibilties though.

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CB14 Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
@Dominick, I don’t see anyway Schenn is with the Kings next year if we sign Richards.

Even if we don’t sign Richards, having Schenn with the Kings next year would put us up right next to the cap, and mabye over it depending on DD’s contract and if we bring back any of our UFA’s. If we sign DD long term his cap hit would probably be over 6 million(I would guess), and that would make it even more difficult to have Schenn with the Kings next year. That’s why DL was so reluctant to call up Schenn at the end of the year. It wasn’t so much that it would trigger a year off his contract, it’s that his contract would be on the books this year guaranteed. That would leave DL with virtually no wiggle room what so ever.

In our posts on the other page (along with Quisp) with regards to Richards (Who I had with a 6 mil cap hit), my scenario with us getting Richards had us getting rid of Stoll (3.6 cap hit), and keeping Schenn (3.1 cap hit) in the minors all year long so that his contract wouldn’t count against the cap. It also had DD with a 4 million dollar cap hit. Even with all of that we would still be extremely close to the cap. So substituing Stoll and Schenn for Richards will still put us right next to the cap.

As you said, it sure is fun to imagine the possibilities.

tuan jim Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:38 pm
@CB14,

I don’t understand why you have Brad Richards with a $6 mil cap hit. The most recent year of his Dallas contract shows a cap-hit of $7.8 million. That ain’t chump change. And I don’t expect him to take a helluva lot less just because he’s a 31-year-old UFA.

As for Stoll, he’s worth his $3.6 mil. He plays 5-on-5, PP, and PK minutes. He scored 20 goals this past season — a season where everyone fussed about how we lacked offense — and only dropped off a bit in the assist column. Add to that his spectacular success in shoot-outs and you have something really special to hold onto.

Oh . . . he also happens to be our best face-off man.

I know you gotta give big to get big, but Stoll is a linchpin to this team. Personally, I think that unless the new CBA increases the salary cap, we should pay for our core RFAs and even ponder bringing back our BIG forwards — the guys whose numbers went down but whose SIZE wins games.

Richards would be nice. But I don’t expect him unless DL pulls off something fantastic.

Dave Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 4:13 pm
@Scot, that would be Schenn or Loktionov.

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Jack the Lad Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 4:18 pm
@Scot, I agree, a 2nd line center is crucial, but with DD’s contract up the Kings will probably have to hope Lokti or Schenn develop into that 2nd line center. The sooner the better.

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Scot Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 4:31 pm
@everyone,

I was just throwing names out there. The idea is to have a second top line Center. I don’t think Loktionov is the answer. Loktionov < Marleau, Lecavalier, Kesler, Malkin, etc, etc. Schenn is a better bet, but he seems to be projected as a 2nd line Center.

I'm well aware that Brad Richards is far out of reach for the Kings. The contract wouldn't fit the blueprint here, and we would subsequently have to jettison a few guys, a la Chicago a year ago when the Toews and Kane extensions kicked in.

It just seems like if Schenn and/or Loktionov make the club next year, the Kings are going to have a number one center and a logjam of small 2nd line centers. You only need one or two of Stoll, Schenn, Loktionov, and Lewis. In my dream fantasy world, we would have Kopitar, (a big free agent or trade acquisition 2nd Line Center who has size), Lewis centering the 3rd Line, and Schenn centering the 4th line (to start the season, at least). But I am no expert, just a fan. DL has a busy, and difficult challenge this summer.

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Dominick Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 10:09 pm
@Scot,
Schenn is projected as a #2, but no telling how high the cieling could go. On this team though he will be a #2, because I don’t see him supplanting Kopi anytime in the near future. I hope the Kings got it right with this one, because the hype is making me anxious.

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tuan jim Reply:
May 27th, 2011 at 11:40 pm
@Dominick,

Yes.
HeyChief says:

May 26, 2011 at 4:04 pm

I attended Game 3 at Staples. At one point, the video scoreboard showed Kopi watching the game from a luxury box. The fans went wild and when Kopi realized that the they were cheering for him he waved to the crowd. He looked emotional.

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Osaka says:

May 26, 2011 at 4:40 pm

Kopi said it “Experience counts in the playoffs”.

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USHA#17 says:

May 26, 2011 at 5:20 pm

Away from training and Anzi is puffing out all Doughty-like

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Osaka says:

May 26, 2011 at 6:42 pm

I just hope is ankle heals properly.

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gmo says:

May 26, 2011 at 7:22 pm

love ya bro KOPI…………wish you a fast recovery….all the best……..
love my kings tooo

go kings go

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YogaPhart says:

May 26, 2011 at 7:50 pm

I got goose bumps when he said, “We’ll go after it next year.”

That sounds way better than, “…we hope to go deep in the playoffs.”

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Dominick Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 10:00 pm
@YogaPhart,
I agree. Just going deep would show progress though. Right now all we have is good intensions. Wouldn’t mind if one of them said we’re going to win the presidents trophy, conferance title, and the Cup, next year.

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KingTrojan says:

May 26, 2011 at 9:04 pm

I love the wry smile when he said Penner scored for the first time in a while.

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KC23 says:

May 27, 2011 at 10:05 am

Kopitar sure is a likeable player. He just has that quality about him that raises one’s confidence level about the team.

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Scaught says:

May 28, 2011 at 12:13 am

It is too scary to think where this team is without Kopitar and Quick. Too scary. Yes, Doughty omitted.

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KingsFanFTW Reply:
May 30th, 2011 at 7:46 pm
@Scaught, yea it would be very scary without Quick,Kopi and Doughty i think we never get to the playoffs

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Steeler says:

June 3, 2011 at 2:28 pm

Bravo Anže! Drži se!

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