Anze Kopitar has officially been named the new captain of the LA Kings. Kopitar, the 14th captain in the team’s history, takes over the role as captain from Dustin Brown. Kopitar is entering his 11th season with the Kings and is locked in with the club through the 2023-24 season.
What does this mean for Brown?
A team stripping a player of the captain’s patch usually isn’t a very good sign, but the Kings reportedly aren’t planning to move Brown at this time. Instead, the club has stated they hope the decision to remove Brown from the role will allow him to focus and improve on his game which has really become pretty one dimensional over the past several seasons. He averaged 50+ points a season between 2007-08 and 2011-12, but the past four seasons have seen Brown produce an average of 28 points per season.
The Kings desperately need Brown to contribute more. He’s under contract through 2021-22 and carries an average cap hit of $5.875 million each season. That’s one big cap hit for a player who hasn’t tallied more than 30 points in any of the previous four seasons.
Too much is made of captains in hockey. They’re mostly symbolic and they don’t really do too much, but it is always noteworthy when a player is removed from the role and remains on the roster. The Kings may be taking a page out of the Sharks’ book, but Brown is certainly no Joe Thornton.
