The Los Angeles Kings shocked many when they announced that long-time captain Dustin Brown would be rewarded with a statue, but the decision makes sense.
Dustin Brown – Forever a King 👑
On February 11th, 2023, @DustinBrown23 will be honoured by the @LAKings with his jersey retirement and statue unveiling.
Congratulations Dustin! 👏 pic.twitter.com/zrbWl2A9mp
— NHL Alumni (@NHLAlumni) July 26, 2022
Dustin Brown Statue is Fully Deserved
After spending a tremendous 18 years with the Los Angeles Kings, Dustin Brown hung up his skates and will now receive two distinguished honours that very few players in franchise history can claim – a jersey retirement, and a statue in his honour.
Brown will become the seventh player in Kings’ history to have his jersey retired when his #23 is raised to the rafters next year. He will join the likes of Luc Robitaille, Marcel Dionne and Wayne Gretzky’s banners at the Crypto.com Arena.
But it is the statue that has created much more of a buzz among hockey fans across the league, with some questioning why he is receiving such an honour despite not being the best player on the team during his tenure.
However, there are some clear reasons why Dustin Brown fully deserves a statue in his honour.
Dustin Brown: Two-Time Cup-Winning Captain
Before drafting Dustin Brown 13th overall in the 2003 Draft, the Los Angeles Kings had never experienced lifting the coveted Stanley Cup. By the time he retired the team had claimed the ultimate prize twice.
Brown was named captain of the Kings just five years after being drafted, and just after playing three years at the NHL level – a clear sign of the type of character he was and how important he would be for the team.
It was his fourth year as the team’s captain that the Kings won Lord Stanley’s cup for the first time in franchise history, seeing Brown play a crucial role with 20 points in 20 playoff games. This was also a season that saw him average more than 20 minutes on the ice both in the regular season as well as the playoffs.
Two years later, and while Brown had seen his ice time drop significantly, down to just over 15 minutes a night, he was still the team’s leader both on and off the ice and helped lead them to yet another cup.
No other player in Kings’ history can boast of having won the Stanley Cup as captain for the Kings, let alone twice in three years. Brown’s successful tenure wearing the ‘C’ is something that no one can argue against.
Brown Gave Everything to the Team
No, Dustin Brown was not the biggest points producer, but sometimes a player’s value is so much more than simply how many goals or assists he contributes.
He was a leader every time he took to the ice, and was even named the 2013-14 winner of the Mark Messier Leadership Award, a clear sign of how important he was to the team.
Even when he was stripped of the captaincy ahead of the 2016-17 campaign, Brown took it in stride and had the right attitude that saw him earn back an alternate captain’s ‘A’ on his jersey for the final four years of his career.
He was a player who gave everything for the Kings, including putting his body on the line each and every game. Brown played a physical style. He complemented his respectable offensive contributions (325 goals, 712 points in his career) with an astonishing 3185 hits.
Eight of the 15 seasons he played in which hits were recorded saw him eclipse 200 by a long way. Two seasons tipped into the 300s. Despite this brutal play style, Brown was still able to play enough to sit atop the Kings’ all-time appearance list, with 1296 regular season games played.
He was a player that played with heart and would have done anything to help the team be successful. With two rings and a career that saw him play for just one team, it should be unquestioned that Dustin Brown deserves this statue.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
