Anze Kopitar’s No. 11 Retirement Gives Kings Fans One More Moment to Celebrate a Legend
Los Angeles Kings captain Anže Kopitar during a matchup against the Seattle Kraken on December 16, 2023, at Climate Pledge Arena. Photo credit: Jenn G.
Written by Gina Anton
For Los Angeles Kings fans, Anze Kopitar’s retirement was never going to be the end of his story in Los Angeles. Now, they have a date to celebrate everything he meant to the franchise.
The Kings announced Friday that Kopitar’s No. 11 will be retired on Feb. 24, 2027, with a bronze statue unveiled at Crypto.com Arena before Los Angeles hosts the Montreal Canadiens. It will be more than a ceremony honoring a former captain. It will be a chance for generations of Kings fans to celebrate the player who became one of the most important figures in franchise history.
Kopitar spent his entire 20-year career in Los Angeles, giving fans something that has become increasingly rare in professional sports: a superstar who never wore another jersey. From his arrival as a 19-year-old in 2006 through his final season in 2025-26, No. 11 remained a constant presence through the biggest moments in Kings history.
That includes the two Stanley Cup championships that helped transform the franchise. But Kopitar’s importance to Los Angeles extended well beyond his production. He became the standard for the organization, leading as captain while representing the Kings and the Southern California community with the same consistency he brought to the ice.
“Anze Kopitar has defined what it means to be a Los Angeles King for the past two decades,” Kings president Luc Robitaille said. That sentiment captures why this celebration will carry so much weight for the fans who watched Kopitar’s entire career unfold in front of them.
The numbers only reinforce what Kings supporters already know. Kopitar retired as the franchise leader in games played with 1,512, assists with 864 and points with 1,316. He leaves Los Angeles as a two-time Stanley Cup champion and five-time All-Star, but his greatest contribution may have been the stability and leadership he provided through two decades of change.
That is what will make seeing No. 11 raised to the rafters so meaningful. Fans did not simply watch Kopitar put up points. They watched him grow from a highly touted teenager into the captain of a championship team and eventually into one of the defining players in franchise history.
His number will join those of Rogie Vachon, Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor, Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, Rob Blake and Dustin Brown. Kopitar will become the eighth player in Kings history to receive the honor, placing him alongside the players whose careers helped shape hockey in Los Angeles.
The statue, however, may offer the most lasting reminder of what Kopitar meant to the city. A retired number preserves his legacy inside the arena, while a statue will give fans a physical symbol of the player they watched lead the franchise for 20 years.
When Feb. 24 arrives, it will be a celebration of more than statistics, awards and championships. It will belong to the fans who watched Kopitar become a King, watched him lift the Stanley Cup twice and eventually watched him walk away from the game wearing the same jersey he wore when it all began. For a generation of Los Angeles hockey fans, No. 11 will always be more than a number.
