It has been a question the past few seasons of when Anze Kopitar might call it a career, and now, LA Kings fans know the answer. The Kings' captain announced that the upcoming 2025-26 season will officially be his last in the NHL.
Kopitar has had an incredible career and not only been one of the best players for the team but also their leader. He made his NHL debut in 2006 after being selected 11th overall in the 2005 NHL Draft and would become the team's captain a decade later in 2016.
This will be the 10th season that he has been the Kings captain and will finish his career with the most seasons in franchise history as a captain, surpassing Dustin Brown who was captain for eight seasons.
Who will replace Anze Kopitar as the Los Angeles Kings' next captain?
This is certainly the big question that the Kings are going to have to answer and will have the chance this season to figure out who that might be. The past two seasons, the alternate captains have been Mikey Anderson, Phillip Danault, and Drew Doughty.
While Doughty and Danault have been alternate captains for a number of seasons, they are towards the end of their careers or time in Los Angeles. The Kings have done a good job of finding players who can serve in that role long-term.
The logical choice would be Mikey Anderson to be the team's next captain. He is an experienced defenseman who has already played in 345 games with the Kings and is only 26 years old. In addition, he is under contract through the 2030-31 season and should be in Los Angeles for a while.
After Anderson, there are options, but they certainly have some questions as they are younger players who haven't been a captain or alternate at the NHL level. The two players that immediately come to mind is Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke, with Byfield being the more likely option.
Byfield has played in 260 games already in his career and will only be 23 years old this season. Similar to Anderson, he is under contract for the next few seasons, with his final year of his current contract set to be in 2029.
As for Clarke, he is another player who should be with the Kings for a while and have his role grow within the defense. However, Jim Hiller and the coaching staff have yet to show they are truly committed to Clarke, and he is set to be a restricted free agent.
Both of these players would certainly make a great deal of sense to replace Kopitar, as would Adrian Kempe. However, the Kings may not even have Kempe on the roster next season if they are not able to agree to a new contract.
Regardless of who the player is, they will have the tough task of following a franchise legend in Anze Kopitar. It isn't easy, but the players listed above would all be great candidates.