ONE OF ONE. The @LAKings will retire Anze Kopitar’s No. 11 and unveil a bronze statue of the franchise’s all-time leading scorer @cryptocomarena on February 24, 2027, against the Montreal Canadiens. 📰: bit.ly/3UiJ4JO
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NHL Notebook: Kings set to retire Anže Kopitar’s number in February
Photo credit: © Gary A. Vasquez - USA Today
Aug 8, 2026, 08:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 8, 2026, 04:35 EDT
The 2026-27 National Hockey League season is rapidly approaching.
One player who won’t participate in it is Los Angeles Kings legend, Anže Kopitar. Following the Kings’ sweep at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, the Slovenian forward retired. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long for the team to honour him, as the Kings are set to retire his number 11 on Feb. 24, 2027.
Kopitar spent his entire 20-year career with the California based team. Drafted the same overall as the jersey on his back in 2005, the centre went on to score 452 goals and 1,316 points in his 1,521 career games.
On a personal level, he managed to win two Selke Trophies, three Lady Byng Memorial Trophies, and the 2021-22 Mark Messier Leadership Award. But that pails in comparison to the two Stanley Cups he helped the team win in the early 2010s.
Kopitar got a cup of coffee in the post-season in 2010, but he helped the Kings become the first eighth-seeded team to win it all, doing so in 2012. Over 20 games, he scored eight goals and 20 points. The Kings fell in the Western Conference Finals to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013, but they got their revenge in 2014, winning the WCF in an instant classic, en route to another Stanley Cup.
Despite the two Stanley Cups, the Kings only made it out of the first round three times in Kopitar’s 20-year career. In 107 games, the Slovenian finished with 27 goals and 89 points.
Noah Philp retires
Another player who retired ahead of the 2026-27 season is Noah Philp. In HV71’s recent press release, the Swedish Hockey League club announced that Philp has retired.
ℹ️ Noah Philp bryter sitt kontrakt med HV71 och avslutar hockeykarriären. 🗨️ "Jag ber verkligen om ursäkt till HV71 och samtliga involverade kring tajmingen av mitt beslut, men jag har dock beslutat mig för att sluta spela hockey. Min motivation för hockeyn är inte där fullt ut Show more
Philp is a Canmore, Alberta product and even had a cup of tea with the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat toward the end of the 2018-19 season. His next three seasons (only two of which were played) were spent at the University of Alberta, joining the Edmonton Oilers’ organization shortly after.
In 2022-23, he scored 19 goals and 37 points in 70 games, but briefly retired following the season due to personal reasons. Returning for the 2024-25 season, Philp scored 19 goals and 35 points in 55 AHL games, playing 15 games with the Oilers that season where he had two assists.
Philp made the Oilers roster out of pre-season, scoring two goals and three points in 15 games in 2025-26. But in December, he was waived and claimed by the Carolina Hurricanes. He played just two more NHL games, then another 29 AHL games to end the season.
Penguins sign Ville Koivunen
On Thursday morning, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they’ve signed forward Ville Koivunen to an eight-year deal worth $4 million annually.
The Penguins have re-signed restricted free agent forward Ville Koivunen to an eight-year contract.
Koivunen, 23, was drafted 51st overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2021 draft. Before the 2024 trade deadline, he was part of the package sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins to land Jake Guentzel.
The Finn made his NHL debut the following season, picking up seven assists in eight games, along with 21 goals and 56 points in 63 AHL games. He got a longer look in the NHL this past season, scoring two goals and seven points in 39 games, while also being productive in the AHL, finishing with 13 goals and 41 points. In the post-season, he added four goals and nine points in 15 games.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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