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Watch the moment Anze Kopitar found out he won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

The LA Kings captain won the award for the third time in his career.
ByBrandon Croce|
Apr 23, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) makes a heart with his gloves for he daughter after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in game 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Apr 23, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) makes a heart with his gloves for he daughter after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in game 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

On Thursday, it was announced that Anze Kopitar would win the Lady Byng Trophy, which is unofficially called the "Nicest Player Award" and given to the player who "exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”

This is the third time that Kopitar has won the award and is the third player since 2000 to win the award at least three times. Martin St. Louis would win it three times while Pavel Datsyuk won it four straight seasons from 2005-06 through 2008-09.

It certainly isn't the only measure but Kopitar for the second time in three seasons finished with only four penalty minutes. He had the fewest of any skaters in the NHL who played at least 60 games during the regular season.

In fact, he would play the first 36 games of the season without any penalty minutes until the game against the New Jersey Devils on January 1st. The only other game with penalty minutes would be April 3rd, in his 75th game, against the Utah Hockey Club.

Anze Kopitar celebrates the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy with his family

The NHL helped Kopitar find out he won the award during a round of golf with his family. In the video, his two kids bring out the trophy for the LA Kings captain.

Even at these late stages of his career, Anze Kopitar continues to play excellent hockey and just had his fourth straight season with at least 67 points, which was second on the team behind only Adrian Kempe. He would finish the season with 21 goals and 46 assists.

Kopitar is expected to continue to play a pivotal role next season for the Los Angeles Kings but he could be looking for help from players like Quinton Byfield, who hopefully can take that next step in his career.

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