The Los Angeles Kings will be looking for a new captain in the 2026-27 season. Current captain Anze Kopitar has announced he will be retiring at the end of the season. With the announcement, the Kings now have a year to decide who will be the next captain of the team.
Kopitar was the No. 11 overall selection of the Kings in the 2005 NHL Draft. He broke into the NHL with Los Angeles in 2006-07. Since then, he has been a constant in the Kings' lineup. He has not missed more than six games in a season since playing just 72 games in his rookie year. Meanwhile, he has played 1,454 games with LA, scoring 440 goals and adding 838 assists. He has played in 103 playoff games, lighting the lamp 27 times with 62 helpers. Kopitar has also been a five-time All-Star, two-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner, three-time Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner, and two-time Stanley Cup champion.
Kopitar became an alternate captain for the Kings in 2008-09 and held that role through 2015-16 as Dustin Brown was the captain. As Brown declined, Kopitar took over the captaincy in 2016-17 and has held the role since. The Kings have had just 13 captains in franchise history, and since Wayne Gretzky took over as captain in 1989-90, there have been just five. There will be a new captain in 2026-27, and these are the best candidates.
Adrian Kempe is the younger option
Of the top options to replace Kopitar, Adrian Kempe is the youngest. He will turn 30 years old just prior to the 2026-27 campaign. The Swedish forward was the 29th overall pick of the 2014 NHL Draft by LA. Like Koptiar, Kempe has been a constant presence in the lineup. He broke into the league partway through the 2016-17 season. Since the 2017-18 season, he has never missed more than five games in a season.
Meanwhile, he has been highly productive in his last four seasons, scoring 28 or more goals and having 50 or more points each year. He has also played in 630 games with the Kings, which is 13th in franchise history. It is also third among active Kings players.
The biggest knock against the candidacy of Kempe is that he has not been an alternate captain before. Since Gretzky's move from an alternate to the captaincy in 1989-90, every Kings captain has been an alternate for at least one season before placing the “C” on his chest. Kempe has yet to be an alternate captain, but if LA wants another long-term captain, the Swede is a solid choice. The first step towards making this a reality is for Kempe to get a contract extension.
Phillip Danault takes the step up to captain
Phillip Danault is another interesting option. The Canadian was drafted in 2011 with the No. 26 pick in the NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. He spent parts of two seasons with the Blackhawks before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens. After five solid seasons with the team, he signed as a free agent with the Kings.
Danault has been a consistent presence as well, missing just nine games in the last four seasons with the club. As a positive for the candidacy of Danault is since joining the team in 2021-22, he has been an alternate captain the entire time.
Still, he has not been as productive as a player like Kempe. After two straight 50-point seasons with LA, he has fallen off in recent years. His point total has declined each of the last two seasons. Regardless, the forward stepped up in the playoffs in a big way. Last year against the Edmonton Oilers, he lit the lamp twice and added six assists in six games. Danault has been a leader on this team, but giving the captaincy to a declining player is not something the Kings have done in the past.
Drew Doughty is the obvious choice
The Kings could also do a short-term selection with a player who has been a leader on the club for years. Doughty is currently third all-time in games played with the franchise. Assuming the 35-year-old blue liner completes his contract and avoids a major injury, he will move into second all-time in games played as a King. Of the top four players in games played with the franchise, only one has not been a team captain, and that is Doughty.
He has been an alternate captain for years. Doughty was given the “A” on his chest during the 2016-17 season, the same year Kopitar took over as captain. This would be a short-term solution overall. The defenseman will turn 36 this season and has just two years left on his contract. LA may be fine with a one-year solution with a player who has been a leader for years. It is also possible the franchise wants to go with a younger option.
Regardless, the Kings have great options to replace Koptiar as the captain, and it just depends on which way the franchise wants to go.
