The Last Run Myth

SAN DIEGO, CA — How much pull does the retirement of a career franchise player actually have?

The Los Angeles Kings are approaching the end of the remarkable tenure of captain Anze Kopitar. For nearly two decades, Kopitar has been the organizational center of gravity for the franchise, a one-stop shop for elite two-way play, leadership, and stability. Naturally, the idea of “one last run” carries emotional weight.

But sentiment can easily become distraction fuel for a team that may need to shift its focus toward securing a brighter long-term future.

First, the Kings have already attempted versions of the “last run” narrative with members of their championship core. Those attempts did not yield the result the organization hoped for. Dustin Brown’s farewell season, for instance, coincided with the first of what would become four consecutive Oilers–Kings playoff matchups. That series produced the longest playoff battle between the teams, yet it still ended with Los Angeles eliminated. Brown’s final game also marked the last postseason appearance in a Kings uniform for Jonathan Quick.

Which raises an uncomfortable question: was last season’s Game 6 in Edmonton the final playoff appearance of Anze Kopitar’s career?

To fully address that question, it is worth examining the present landscape.

As of this writing, the Kings sit five points outside a wildcard playoff position with 62 points in 60 games. Their defensive core remains slow and struggles to generate offensive transition, a structural problem that persists even with major forward additions like Artemi Panarin. Regardless of the talent deployed up front, a team still requires a defensive group capable of efficiently moving the puck out of its zone.

Complicating matters further, the general manager has already demonstrated a commitment to this defensive group; financially, contractually, and publicly. That commitment limits the organization’s flexibility moving forward.

Meanwhile, the team finally moved on from Jim Hiller despite last season’s disappointing series collapse, yet the same structural problems remain. Several draft selections from the organization’s 2017–2022 window have either underperformed expectations or been overtaken by players that should be viewed as depth options. Additionally, multiple voices who have spent time within the organization have hinted at internal, toxic issues that extend beyond simple roster construction.

Taken together, the overall landscape is not particularly encouraging.

Even when factoring in a relatively soft remaining schedule: ranked 26th out of 32 in difficulty , the broader trajectory appears troubling. When all variables point in the same direction, the downward slope becomes difficult to ignore.

Could a few trades fix the situation?

Possibly. But the more honest answer may be no.

The trade deadline is approaching quickly, and the reality is that splash acquisitions such as Elias Pettersson or Robert Thomas are unlikely to fix this team’s underlying issues. In fact, the Kings may be better served approaching the deadline as sellers rather than buyers.

Ironically, Ken Holland’s decision not to move the organization’s first-round pick actually reinforces this logic. Protecting future assets suggests that management already recognizes the importance of safeguarding the long-term outlook, even if the current season has drifted off course.

Which brings the discussion back to the original question: how much pull does Kopitar have?

Few players in franchise history command the level of respect Kopitar does. He will play his 1,500th game, and he is on pace to surpass Marcel Dionne for the all-time franchise points record. In many ways, he will retire as the King among Kings — an appropriate title for a player who helped define the most successful era in franchise history.

But even that level of legacy cannot fully justify sacrificing long-term assets in pursuit of what may ultimately be a far-fetched postseason run.

Watching No. 11 take a final lap in Game 82, followed by the wrong type of handshake line — would undoubtedly be a bittersweet moment. Yet the responsibility for that outcome does not lie with Kopitar. It rests with management decisions made over the past half decade and with the evolving dynamics of the Western Conference itself.

Los Angeles remains one of the premier sports markets in North America, but it is not a market where hockey pressure dictates organizational decisions the same way it might in Canada or traditional hockey hotbeds. That reality creates space for a strategic reset if needed.

A full rebuild may not be politically viable for the organization, but a meaningful retool appears increasingly necessary, even if it means sacrificing the symbolism of a final championship push with Kopitar.

That may not be what Holland envisioned when he accepted the job. His age has occasionally been referenced as though this season represents his own “last ride” despite the inaugural season of his Kings’ tenure. Yet the situation he inherited has changed quickly. The Kings are trending toward a 15–20 point regression from last season’s 105-point campaign and could miss the playoffs entirely for the first time since 2020–21.

The team’s arc suffered a major blow in last year’s playoff collapse, something interim head coach DJ Smith referenced during his introductory press conference. Losing a two-game series lead — then leading into the third period in Games 3 and 4 — against a team that had already eliminated Los Angeles three consecutive seasons prior appears to have left a lingering psychological impact.

Over the past four seasons, the Kings consistently reached the playoffs and even posted impressive regular-season totals, 104 points in 2023–24 and 105 last year. Yet those appearances ultimately served as stepping stones for a rival that advanced to three conference finals and two Stanley Cup Finals.

Each early exit cost the franchise valuable time it could have spent recalibrating for its next competitive window.

Meanwhile, the Western Conference itself has evolved. Several teams have moved deeper into their competitive primes, while only a few have fully regressed. Seattle, Anaheim, San Jose, and Utah have all embraced varying forms of prospect development and tactical roster turnover.

In contrast, Los Angeles largely prioritized extending the life of its veteran core while juggling their future staples as secondary objectives.

The result has been a growing imbalance. Some organizations in the West are starting to reap the rewards from committing fully to the future, pushing their competitive arcs forward aggressively. The Kings attempted to sustain a hybrid approach that increasingly resembles a “Penguins 2.0” model — prolonging competitiveness without fully transitioning to the next phase.

Now the conference landscape has adjusted around them.

From the outside looking in, the direction forward appears increasingly clear.

The Kings should focus on preserving the structural pieces worth building around, repurposing what they can, and selling assets capable of returning meaningful value in a deadline market crowded with aggressive buyers.

Failing to capitalize on that opportunity would echo a recent mistake.

Consider the 2023–24 season, when the Kings held onto defenseman Matt Roy through the trade deadline only to lose him for nothing in free agency. Roy later joined Washington and quickly established himself on the Capitals’ top defensive pair alongside Jakob Chychrun.

Right-handed defensemen consistently command premium returns at the deadline. A player of Roy’s caliber likely could have fetched a first-round pick or more — an excellent return for a seventh-round selection originally drafted by the Kings.

This year presents another opportunity to soak up assets from a seller's perspective.

I will say, some elements of the roster remain immovable. The Kings’ defensive core remains a significant concern, with Brian Dumoulin, Cody Ceci, and Joel Edmundson all signed for at least two more seasons at contracts that exceed their current market value. Moving those deals would likely require Los Angeles to attach additional assets, a difficult proposition given the organization’s already thin pipeline.

In the most extreme scenario, buyouts may eventually need to be considered.

Regardless of how that situation unfolds, the broader strategy should remain clear: the Kings should begin accumulating assets through deadline trades while the market heavily favors sellers. It may not have been the direction expected when Holland first arrived. But it is increasingly the direction the franchise appears to be heading.

Pursuing high-risk additions such as Patrik Laine, who has only suited up for a handful of games this season, could further complicate the roster’s trajectory without meaningfully improving playoff odds.

The next 24 hours could shape the franchise's direction over the next half-decade. And that decision will determine whether the Kings prioritize sentiment or strategy.