Kings News & Rumors: National Broadcast Schedule, NHL 26 Ratings & Will This Be Kopitar’s Last Dance?

No time is wasted before the Kings have the entire country laying eyes on them, as their first two games of the season will be national broadcasts. The Kings’ first game of the season and home opener is against the Colorado Avalanche on ESPN’s opening night, and then they travel up to Sin City for a back-to-back against the Vegas Golden Knights on TNT.

Here are all 14 of the games that will be nationally televised. 

ESPN

• Oct. 7 – Kings vs. Avalanche
• Oct. 28 – Kings at Sharks
• Feb. 26 – Kings vs. Oilers
• March 5 – Kings vs. Islanders
• April 13 – Kings at Kraken

ESPN+/Hulu

• Oct. 23 – Kings at Stars
• Nov. 6 – Kings vs. Panthers
• Nov. 20 – Kings at Sharks
• Dec. 4 – Kings vs. Blackhawks

TNT 

• Oct. 8 – Kings at Golden Knights
• Dec. 10 – Kings at Kraken
• Jan. 14 – Kings vs. Golden Knights
• Feb. 25 – Kings vs. Golden Knights
• April 1 – Kings vs. Blues

EA Sports Shares NHL 26 Player Ratings 

Over the past few days, EA Sports has been gradually releasing the top 10 players with the highest overall ratings in NHL 26 for each position, and two members of the Kings cracked their respective lists. Drew Doughty, who has been given an 88 OVR this year, just cracked the “Top 10 Right Defensemen,” securing the 10th spot. This is the exact same OVR and position Doughty had to kick off NHL 25 last year. The only other King to make a Top 10 list for NHL 26 was none other than Vezina Trophy finalist, Darcy Kuemper, who also came in at No. 10, but on the “Top 10 Goalies” list with an 87 OVR.

Not only did the “Top 10” rankings for each position drop, but the Top 10 players of each team were also shared. Once again, no King was given an overall of 90 or higher, but many are situated somewhere in the high 80s. Here are the Top 10 Kings in NHL 26, as well as the X-Factors (which have been completely revamped) they have been given. 

1. Adrian Kempe – 88 OVR / X-Factors: Quick Pick, Quick Release, Wheels
2. Anze Kopitar – 88 OVR / X-Factors: Quick Draw, Quick Pick, Unstoppable 
3. Drew Doughty – 88 OVR / X-Factors: Quick Pick, Second Wind, Warrior 
4. Darcy Kuemper – 87 OVR / X-Factors: None
5. Kevin Fiala – 87 OVR / X-Factors: Quick Release, Wheels
6. Phillip Danault – 86 OVR / X-Factors: Quick Draw, Quick Pick
7. Quinton Byfield – 86 OVR / X-Factors: Ankle Breaker, Big Rig
8. Brandt Clarke – 85 OVR / X-Factors: Send It, Wheels
9. Mikey Anderson – 85 OVR / X-Factors: None
10. Warren Foegele – 84 OVR / X-Factors: None

It’s important to note that these are just the initial ratings and that they are subject to change based on how each player performs throughout the season. As far as X-Factors given out, they are pretty accurate for the most part. A lot more defensive abilities than offensive ones, which tracks with the Kings. Not giving Byfield “Wheels” was a mistake, and I will say that having Kuemper ranked as a top 10 goaltender, but then not giving him an X-Factor is a little weird, same thing for Filip Gustavsson of the Minnesota Wild, who was ranked 7th best. It’s also interesting that all three of Kopitar, Doughty, and Kempe have the same overall. If Kopitar and Doughty are 88 at this stage of their careers, I think it’s more than fair to expect Kempe to be a bit higher. 

Is This Season Kopitar’s Last?

Kopitar is heading into the final year of his two-year contract extension worth $14 million, which he signed in the summer of 2023. After 19 seasons with the Kings, Kopitar is heading into the 2025-26 season without an extension in place, possibly indicating that this will be his final season in the NHL.

To further add to the speculation, the Mayor tweeted this over a month ago regarding Kopitar’s extension and future. 

All of this is purely speculation until the player comments on the situation, right? Well, on Thursday, Kopitar sat down with Jaime Maggio of KCAL News and mentioned the possibility of retirement.

“If I said I didn’t think about it, I’d be lying for sure. I’ve been thinking about it, not everything is quite decided yet, but this could be my last season in the NHL, yes,” Kopitar said. 

As Kopitar mentioned, no decision has been made, and while it may seem like he is headed in the direction of retirement after this season, nothing is set in stone until he makes that call. He has accomplished a plethora of different things in his NHL career with the Kings, from having played over 1,400 NHL games, winning two Stanley Cups, having five All-Star appearances, two Selke Trophies, two Lady Byng Memorial Trophies, a Mark Messier Leadership Award, and being the captain of the Kings since the 2016-17 season. If he does decide to call it a career at the end of the season, he will undoubtedly be looked at as the greatest King of all time.