The Los Angeles Kings confirmed Friday that they will retire Anze Kopitar’s No. 11 and unveil a bronze statue in his honor. The ceremony is scheduled for February 24, 2027, when the Kings host the Montreal Canadiens at Crypto.com Arena.
The organization is framing it as a one-of-one honor. Kopitar sits as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, according to the team’s own announcement. A statue outside the arena does something a banner cannot. It stops people mid-stride and makes them stand still for a second.
This is the right call. Kopitar has always said that if there’s any other team he would have played for in the NHL, it’s the Canadiens. The connection makes the opponent that night more than a convenient booking. Montreal will be the visiting team for the ceremony, and it won’t be a soft landing spot.
Martin St-Louis guided the Canadiens to a 48-24-10 finish worth 106 points last season. General manager Kent Hughes has run that operation since January 2022, and the results show it. Montreal posted a 24-9-8 road record of its own. The Canadiens weren’t perfect down the stretch either, dropping a 2-4 decision at Philadelphia in their last game before the campaign ended.
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The tribute lands as the Kings enter a new era behind the bench. Peter Laviolette was hired as head coach on June 9, 2026. General manager Ken Holland, in charge since May 2025, inherits a roster that finished last season 35-27-20 with a -22 goal differential. LA was far better away from home than at Crypto.com Arena, going 20-10-11 on the road compared to 15-17-9 at home. The Kings also closed the year on a two-game skid, dropping the finale 1-3 on the road against Calgary.
There’s no word yet on who joins Kopitar for the ceremony, or which alumni will be in the building that night. The Kings have close to a year and a half to get it right. Whether this current group is playing meaningful hockey by the time that banner goes up is a separate story entirely.
How many players currently wearing the crown will still be around by the time that statue goes up outside the building? That question hangs over the franchise as it prepares to celebrate its greatest scorer with the Canadiens in the building—a matchup that feels fitting for a player who once imagined himself in Montreal colors.
The announcement itself is straightforward. The implications are not. For Canadiens fans, the update arrives as an unexpected reminder of an alternate history that never happened, and of a future night in Los Angeles that will now carry extra weight.