For the second time in the last three years this offseason, Los Angeles Kings longtime veteran forward Anze Kopitar won the Lady Byng Award for the 2024-25 season. Kopitar continued to play good two-way hockey and produce consistent scoring stats for the Kings last season.
While Kopitar is still producing at a high level as a top-six forward and a quality center in the NHL, he has slowed down a bit on the ice in the past couple of years. His minutes and workload on the ice started to be managed tighter by head coach Jim Hiller and the Kings in the second half of this past regular season.
He played under 19 minutes per game in average ice time for the first time in his career in the NHL last regular season.
Kopitar came in clutch when the Kings needed it this past season in the third period and in the postseason. He tied for the team lead with seven game-winning goals, and also ranked second on the team in points scored in the playoffs in 2025 (nine).
Anze Kopitar 2024-25 Los Angeles Kings player season recap
2024-25 season stats: 81 games played, 21 goals, 46 assists, 67 points, +14
2024-25 advanced stats: 21.6 shooting %, 10.7 5-on-5 shooting %, 2.6 points/60, 6.8 point shares, 2.3 WAR
2024-25 possession metrics: 51.4 CF%, 49.5 SCF%, 101.9 PDO, 52.3 HDCF%
Kopitar got off to a blazing hot start last season for the Kings. He scored double-digit points in each of the regular season's first three months. Kopitar began to cool off in the second half of the regular season, though. He scored single-digit points in two of the regular season's final three months.
Despite the drop in ice time due to workload management by Hiller and the Kings last season, Kopitar still finished second on the team in points scored (67). But it was only the fourth time in Kopitar's careeer that he didn't lead the Kings in scoring.
Simply put, the Kings were a possessive and productive team with Kopitar on the ice with the forward group in the top two lines. For the second time in as many years, Kopitar registered a Corsi for percentage over 54 percent. He also had a 62 percent high danger goals for percentage at 5-on-5 with the Kings this past season.
Rink Royalty 2024-25 season grade for Anze Kopitar: B+
Anze Kopitar 2025-26 Los Angeles Kings season preview
One of the big question marks regarding Kopitar is whether the 2025-26 regular season will be the last for him in a Kings uniform before he decides to hang the skates up. Kopitar is entering the final year of his current contract, worth $7 million in average annual value for the 2025-26 season.
This upcoming season will be Kopitar's 20th year playing for the Kings (since the 2006-07 season). Going into this upcoming season, Kopitar will be 38 years of age. Will this be the year that Kopitar passes the torch at the center position to a rising and young Kings forward like Quinton Byfield or Alex Turcotte?