It has been an impressive season to start for Anze Kopitar as the Los Angeles Kings captain is leading the team in points with 37 through 34 games. He currently is averaging over one point per game, which is remarkable at this point in career.
It is even more notable because he has only had an average of more than one point per game in his career once before this season. Kopitar had a career-high 92 points during the 2017-18 season with his next highest total all the way back during the 2009-10 season when he had 81.
The way that Kopitar has started the season has not only put a Los Angeles Kings record within reach but also an NHL record. Let's take a closer look at both and what he has to do for the remainder of the season to break these.
Los Angeles Kings: Franchise leader in points
This first record seems like it is destined to be Anze Kopitar's at some point but it felt like he would break this next season. The current record is owned by Marcel Dionne, who had 1,307 points in his career with the Los Angeles Kings.
Anze Kopitar is not far behind as he currently has 1,248 career points which means he needs only 59 points to tie and 60 to surpass Dionne. If he wants to break that record this season, he will need to average 1.25 points per game for the remainder of the season and would be an increase from his current average of 1.09 points per game.
If he keeps his current average, he will end up about eight points short of Dionne and it probably won't be long into next season when he breaks it. However, it would be great to watch him chase this record as the Kings chase a playoff spot towards the end of the season.
NHL Record: Most assists in a season by a 37-year -old
This NHL record is a little more specific but with the way Anze Kopitar has started the season, the record for most assists as a 37-year-old is well within reach. The record was set by Wayne Gretzky when he was with the New York Rangers during the 1997-98 season when he had 67.
Through 34 games, Anze Kopitar has 27 assists and if he continues this per game average through the remainder of the season he will finish with 65 assists. It would be an impressive total when considering his current career-high is 57, which he set during the 2017-18 season.
Even if he doesn't break either record by the end of the regular season there is no denying that Anze Kopitar is playing some incredible hockey currently and been really fun to watch for LA Kings' fans.