It was surprising last season, which tells us just how far the Kings are away from being cup contenders.
You go check the stats, truly dominant players like Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, Kucherov, McDavid, etc. don't have the oscillatory offensive numbers Kopitar has from season-to-season. Kopitar is a star. He isn't a dominant force in the NHL every season, which is what he should be for the role he has been cast in by the Kings.
McDavid doesn't have enough of a track record like the other guys yet so I'm wary of projecting too much but no one is McDavid so I can grant you that one without being upset, haha.
Crosby--look at his games played year to year. He's played 82 games only once, though to be fair he's played 80+ 5 times. He's missed an
average of 20% of each season, so while he's better, you can only count on 65 games a year on average. Career high of 120 points, career low of 37 points.
Ovechkin--you don't remember people proclaiming his demise? He's had seasons of 65, 69 points. Career high of 110. Though he's never scored less than 32 goals in a season, which is phenomenal.
Malkin--I don't even think I need to go into stats with this one. The guy is a lot of the things--including imo the best player in the world when 'on'--but consistent is not one of them.
Kucherov--like McDavid, still young-ish, in his production prime. Let's see what happens from here.
And this is just comparing him to 'the greats', including some generational players. Look how he compares to Toews and Bergeron and you'll see similar patterns. Kopitar has been a freak of nature with health and consistency across his career in comparison to other stars.
Until this season I didn't think one could over value Kopitar's prowess on the defensive side of the puck, but he is even lagging in that department this season. He is losing board battles he used to win. In the past his offense would fade because he wouldn't drive the net or shoot the puck often enough. Now his puck possession game is off as well.
I think Kopitar's offense in the past was more a result of his size, strength, and smart positioning. I don't think he has the skill level of a sniper or great stick handler. His best attributes were his smart positioning, strong skating, and being hard to take off the puck when he is protecting it.
THAT I agree with, which is what's making this season so dreadful for him.