Anze Kopitar, center for the Los Angeles Kings, has established himself as one of the best centers in the game. And the Kings decided to lock him up in Los Angeles as they signed him to an 8yr/$80M contract extension. The deal also includes a no-movement clause in the first four years and some no-trade claude protection in the last four years. This will have Kopitar under contract through the 2023-24 season, when he will be 36. The deal will make him the highest paid player on the Kings.
At $10M AAV, as per @TSNBobMcKenzie, #LAKings‘ Kopitar would have the third-highest cap hit in #NHL behind only Toews and Kane (both $10.5M)
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) January 13, 2016
FWIW, Kopitar would also have largest outstanding $ owed to him in #NHL at the moment. Both Kane and Toews taking home $13.8M this season.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) January 13, 2016
Anze Kopitar’s extension includes a full no-move clause through 2020, and then he gets a seven-team trade list beyond that.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) January 16, 2016
Drafted 11th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Kopitar has spent his entire career in the Kings organization. He signed a 3yr/$2,952 entry-level contract in September of that year. Kopitar made his official NHL debut on opening night of the 2006-2007 season where he scored two goals in the Kings 4-3 loss. He would go on to complete his the season third among rookies in scoring, behind Evgeni Malkin and Paul Stastny. He also finished fourth in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the rookie of the year.
Kopitar would sign a 7yr/$47.6M contract extension early on in the 2008-2009 season. The contract was set to keep him through the current season, 2015-2016. Kopitar also helped the team capture their first Stanley Cup in 2012. He’d tie captain Dustin Brown for the team lead in scoring in the playoffs with 20 points in 20 games.
“He’s everything we covet as a King,” Mike Futa, L.A.’s director of hockey operations, told Hockey Central earlier this season. “Anytime we write out our core and what has made up successful, the first name we write down is our C1, Number 11.”
The Kings center has had a career that has so far seen a total of 725 games, 230 goals and 415 assists. Midway through the 2015-2016 season, Kopitar has 35 points in 42 games and is on track for about a 70 point season.
Count it! That’s eight more years for Anze Kopitar in a #LAKings uniform. OFFICIAL >> https://t.co/0OgNxt93ag pic.twitter.com/nvRPFwUH02
— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 16, 2016
