At 1,400 games and counting, the “once in a lifetime” Anze Kopitar continues to thrive for the Kings

Is there a more Anze Kopitar stat than the one he reached last night?

Yesterday’s game was his 1,400th in the NHL. It was also his 700th career home game. For a player who has been the model of consistency since he was 19 years old, it’s almost fitting that Kopitar hit another round number with a perfectly even split. Similar to the way he’s played throughout his entire career, perfectly mastering the balance between offensive production and defensive responsibility and prowess, Kopitar hits his latest mark the way he always has – with symmetry.

What has always stood out when Kopitar hits these milestones is the one-team nature of his accomplishments. In a world of ring chasers in the NBA and highest bidders in the MLB, Kopitar is a rare breed of star, who has dedicated his entire career to the team that drafted him. Fortunately for those in Los Angeles, the Kings were that team.

“We’re pretty fortunate to be able to witness in real time what we’re witnessing out of him,” Head Coach Jim Hiller said after last night’s milestone night, a 4-1 Kings victory over Minnesota.

Kopitar became just the 11th player all-time to reach 1,400 games played with one team. Of those 11 players, only nine were actually one-team men for their entire careers, which Kopitar will one day become. Only he and Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin are in that club among active players and Kopitar is the only player from the 2005 NHL Draft to reach the 1,400-game mark to this point. He will remain with that distinction for at least one more season, with Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby sitting 99 games behind, having just played in his 1,300th game.

“To do it for how long as he’s done it is unbelievable,” forward Alex Laferriere added. “He’s definitely a once in a lifetime player.”

Often times, as players approach the end of their careers, checking off games played milestones along the way, you start to see a level of play dip. Such is life. I think most of us were a bit more agile at 22 than 37. The Kings have been planning, personnel wise, for Kopitar’s level of play to potentially drop off. They weren’t expecting it to, but acquisitions of Phillip Danault as a free agent, Quinton Byfield through the NHL Draft and Pierre-Luc Dubois via trade were certainly designed to help provide a succession plan.

Yet we are nearly 30 games into the 2024-25 season and there sits Kopitar, right where he’s always been – centering the team’s top forward line and leading the Kings in scoring. Not only is he currently reaching past seasons rate, but he is exceeding them and he’s doing so at a clip rarely seen at his age.

“To play that many games and still be playing at the level he is, he’s our leader out there and in here, on and off the ice,” goaltender Darcy Kuemper said of Kopitar. “He just plays the game the right way his whole career. You think of him as such a defensive player and then you look at how many points he has in his career, it’s pretty incredible. There’s not many guys that can achieve the things that he has.”

Through 27 games, Kopitar has collected 1.15 points-per-game, which is on-pace to be the eighth best season in NHL history from a points-per-game standpoint for players 37 years or older. Just 14 players throughout NHL history aged 37 or older have produced a full season at a point-per-game pace or better. Now, there’s obviously a long road to go between now and what the Kings hope will be another opportunity to compete in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But man. 31 points and a +13 rating from 27 games played, at the age of 37? Succession, sushmession.

1400th game, 1st Driver of the Game 🫡 pic.twitter.com/UA2XBomJpJ

— LA Kings (@LAKings) December 8, 2024

What those players brought in at the center position, Danault and Byfield at least, have done is allow the Kings to at least manage Kopitar’s minutes. Not that long ago, if Kopitar didn’t play 23 minutes and contribute towards a couple of goals, the Kings probably lost the game. Now they have some depth to work with. So far this season, Kopitar is averaging 19:14 in time on ice, which is on track to be the lowest total of his NHL career. Just twice, including last season, did Kopitar play a season under 20 minutes per game over the course of a season.

Perhaps the managed minutes have made him all the more fresh when he is on the ice. They certainly haven’t been easier minutes 5-on-5, with Kopitar averaging his fewest offensive-zone starts, per/60, in any season throughout his career. Last night, the Kings specifically used Kopitar’s line to matchup against Kirill Kaprizov, to the tune of more than 10 minutes head-to-head against the Russian superstar and his linemates. This season, his PK time is down to 1:09 per game, limiting his usage to high leverage situations, the right situations, when you need your best players at all costs. The proof, so far, has been in the pudding.

With 3.58 points per/60 in all situations, Kopitar is currently producing at the highest rate of his career, by far. Just once prior, his near-MVP 2017-18 season, was he over three points per/60. His assist totals are, across the board, at the top of his career on a per/60 basis. With Kopitar on the ice, the Kings have scored 21 goals at 5-on-5, compared to just 10 against, the best mark on the Kings behind only his linemate, Adrian Kempe. Simply put, the Kings are putting the puck in the net when Kopitar is playing and the veteran has a point on more than 75 percent of the goals he’s been on the ice for. Pretty good contribution rates.

That’s the player. And the player is good. To do all of these things on the ice is impressive enough, regardless of age.

To do it in the selfless manner that Kopitar has, though, make it that much more impressive.

And that is the person his teammates gush over.

“Even when he’s looking out for everybody, he’s still performing at the best of his ability,” Laferriere added. “He’s an unbelievable player, an unbelievable guy and I’m just lucky to be able to learn from him.”

Laferriere spoke about how last season, as a rookie, Kopitar would drive him to the home games, taking a younger player under his wing right from the start. It’s the same thing Kopitar is doing this year with Brandt Clarke. Laferriere called it “huge” for his own development to get that kind of attention from the team’s captain. It’s not something he’s required to do. It’s not something he really gets a ton of fanfare for doing. But it’s part of being the leader that Kopitar is, the captain that he’s become. Often times, it’s the rah-rah leaders who get the most love. Kopitar is more of the even-keeled variety, speaking up when it’s time to do so, but steering the ship with poise and calmness.

Driving a younger player to games, being a resource and a crutch for him, that’s not what draws the same type of widespread attention. But perhaps it should.

For Kopitar to continue to produce at the level he is, while taking on the role of mentor and leader with the care and attention he has, it’s pretty special to see.

Want more proof?

Hiller spoke after the game about catching up with Darryl Sutter after the game. Sutter was at last night’s game, originally in anticipation of what would have been a celebration of Trevor Lewis’ 1,000th NHL game. He, Hiller and the rest of the staff spent some time talking about Kopitar. From the man who coached him during the most, successful spell in franchise history, Hiller said that even Sutter is amazed by what Kopitar continues to do.

“He came to the coaches room and I said, ‘what do you think of Kopi’ and he’s just amazed,” Hiller said, of speaking with Sutter. “He’s had him more than anybody who’s coached him, so a lot of respect there from Darryl to Kopi. I just think it’s just well, well deserved from all of us.”

Hiller added that he wished Sutter could have come to the podium and answered that question about Kopitar himself. Though I think we all know that wasn’t going to happen.

Perhaps for the greatest player in franchise history, though, he might have and that is what Kopitar continues to be. For a team riding a five-game winning streak, with a big roadtrip ahead, the Kings shouldn’t need to rely on Kopitar to do what he’s always done each and every night. Pretty good thing that he’ll do anyways though, don’t you think?

A milestone fit for a 🫅

Congratulations to Anze Kopitar, who becomes the first member of the @LAKings to play 1,400 regular-season games with the franchise. pic.twitter.com/WvRB4kxJZZ

— NHLPA (@NHLPA) December 8, 2024