Kings' Adrian Kempe Praises Captain's Consistent Dominance

The 2025–26 season carries a quiet weight in Los Angeles. If this truly is Anže Kopitar’s final run, it marks the closing chapter of one of the most complete careers the Kings have ever seen. Two Stanley Cups, two Selke Trophies, three Lady Byngs — those are the obvious lines on the resume.

The less flashy ones matter just as much: over 1,480 games played, close to 1,300 points (currently 39th on the NHL’s all-time scoring list), and over 100 playoff games where he was asked to do everything and usually did it well.

Still, there’s a selfish part of many Kings fans that hope this isn’t the end. One more year would make sense. The young talent is arriving. The structure is solid. And Kopitar is still climbing all-time leaderboards that few players ever touch. Walking away now feels logical, but staying feels tempting.

That tension mirrors Los Angeles’ season so far.

The Kings have been, for lack of a better word, mid. They are tied for fourth in the Pacific while holding a Wild Card spot, and are held together by structure, discipline, and defensive buy-in rather than firepower. Their power play ranks second-to-last at 14.3 percent. Their shooting percentage sits 31st at 9.2, and they sit near the bottom of the league in goals scored.

The Kings Prefer Structure Over Flash

Los Angeles covers its offensive flaws with elite team defense. The Kings allow just 2.53 goals per game, which is tied for second-best in the NHL. They also sit in the upper quartile in shots on goal allowed and penalty minutes per game, rarely beating themselves. It’s not pretty hockey, but it’s honest, organized, and effective.

That identity showed again in a 4–2 win over the Utah Mammoth, a game that quietly added another footnote to Kopitar’s career. Before that night, he had never tallied a goal at the Delta Center, but in the third period he scored to give the Kings a 3–1 lead (video below), with his mom in attendance on the team’s Moms Trip.