Kopitar, Greatest King

[Vukotal Recall]

If I had a time machine, I would leave killing Hitler to the next guy with a time machine and go back and pick Kopitar over Carey Price.

 

[MOGlLNY]

My favorite player ever. Been so awesome to see him be an ageless wonder

 

[King'sPawn]

asking as a non-kings fan: what makes doughty not a greater king than kopitar?

from my eyes, doughty was both the better player overall and the more important player those cup teams. and kopi had a two year head start, but in the end doughty might be around just as long.

There are fair arguments for Doughty. To me, Kopitar has the edge because:
- he's been incredibly consistent. He's led the team in scoring every season except two: his rookie year and a season when he played through an injury.
- his defensive ability as a forward is better than Doughty's offensive ability as a defenseman
- there is league-wide respect for him. Doughty running his mouth and having tantrums rubs people the wrong way.
- he has incredible durability. Since 2006, his rookie season, he's only missed 42 regular season games. This is while playing the hardest minutes on the team (he spent most of his career playing 20+ minutes a game, including on the PK)

 

[Little Psycho]

His pimp walk into the lockerroom during their post game dance was hilarious.

 

[Bandit]

Been a Kings fan since the 80's, It's Kopitar for me.

Dude has been a rock his entire career. Great defence, good offense, amazing durability. He'll end up 3rd all time in goals, first all time in assists (probably in the next couple days) and it would surprise me if he doesn't finish as the franchise all time leading scorer. Already all time games played leader (though Doughty could eventually pass him conceivably). Others have been more talented, sure, but Kopi will go down as the greatest.

 

[Nasti]

No.



I mean. You could argue that, but it'd be wrong.

Getzlaf, Stamkos, Tavares, Giroux and Thornton were all better in those years.

Kopitar was a great player though. It's kind of weird how his individual success like Kane seemed to come after the cup years.

Kopitar made Thornton and Getzlaf his bitch in the 2014 playoffs. Tavares and Giroux were literally never better than Kopitar unless you only watch east coast games. Stamkos is debatable but it depends on what type of player you value more.

 

[kings11]

No.



I mean. You could argue that, but it'd be wrong.

Getzlaf, Stamkos, Tavares, Giroux and Thornton were all better in those years.

Kopitar was a great player though. It's kind of weird how his individual success like Kane seemed to come after the cup years.

No they were phucken not, even Wayne Gretzky had Anze as a top 3 player! Not center but player.. so wtf are you talking about

 

[Gurglesons]

Kopitar made Thornton and Getzlaf his bitch in the 2014 playoffs. Tavares and Giroux were literally never better than Kopitar unless you only watch east coast games. Stamkos is debatable but it depends on what type of player you value more.

Went to Kings games regularly from 2006 - 2015. Tavares had a Hart finalist finish in 2013 and 2015.

Kopi had one finish in the years of 2012-2014 and it was 8th.

Didn't finish top 10 in scoring until 17-18.

Overrating him.

Tavares was top 10 in 11-12 and 2nd in 14-15.

Giroux was 3rd in scoring in 11-12 and 13-14 and Hart finalist in 13-14.

 

[Gurglesons]

No they were phucken not, even Wayne Gretzky had Anze as a top 3 player! Not center but player.. so wtf are you talking about

Wayne Gretzky has 10 players as the best player in the league every year.

I’m talking about reality. Doughty and Quick were viewed as the lynch pins for those La teams. Kopitar was great in both runs, but you could probably argue Brown in 2012 and 70s line over him in terms of importance in both runs.

 

[Kimota]

It's always gonna be Dionne and Robitaille to me. I never seen Kopitar as dominant but he has been a complete player with longivity. Luc and Marcel were dominant in their own field.

 

[kevsh]

Anze is a legend, phenomenal player & leader.

But Dionne won a scoring title over the Great One and led the first line in hockey history to have 3 100-point scorers. Was also the 2nd on the all-time points list until that same Wayne guy came along.

Also, he was part of the Miracle on Manchester. Greatest comeback in hockey history.
Dionne was the man.

 

[Choralone]

Kopitar for me all the way. You have to remember, he sacrificed potential points to play a strong 2-way game. He'd have more gaudy point totals for sure if he didn't play hard on defense, but the Kings wouldn't have won 2 cups if their top player didn't buy in 100%.

 

[Terry Yake]

Kopitar made Thornton and Getzlaf his bitch in the 2014 playoffs. Tavares and Giroux were literally never better than Kopitar unless you only watch east coast games. Stamkos is debatable but it depends on what type of player you value more.

getzlaf had 8 pts in 7 games in that series. thornton yeah, he only put up 3 pts in 7 games and all 3 of those pts came in the first 3 games. he did nothing after game 3

 

[Little Psycho]

getzlaf had 8 pts in 7 games in that series. thornton yeah, he only put up 3 pts in 7 games and all 3 of those pts came in the first 3 games. he did nothing after game 3

It wasn’t a match up that the Ducks were fond of, if I recall correctly the Getzlaf line played against the Richards’ line the most.

 

[Nasti]

getzlaf had 8 pts in 7 games in that series. thornton yeah, he only put up 3 pts in 7 games and all 3 of those pts came in the first 3 games. he did nothing after game 3

Getzlaf was also a -5 in the series while Kopitar was +5 with 9 points. In fact, Kopitar was the favorite to win the Conn Smythe after round 2 before he and Toews canceled each other out in the Conference Final. I agree that Getzlaf was better than Thornton though.

 

[Nasti]

Went to Kings games regularly from 2006 - 2015. Tavares had a Hart finalist finish in 2013 and 2015.

Kopi had one finish in the years of 2012-2014 and it was 8th.

Didn't finish top 10 in scoring until 17-18.

Overrating him.

Tavares was top 10 in 11-12 and 2nd in 14-15.

Giroux was 3rd in scoring in 11-12 and 13-14 and Hart finalist in 13-14.

Yes but we already know that players playing in the east have a voting advantage when it comes to awards. Neither of those two are locks for the HOF while Kopitar is.

 

[EpochLink]

Been a Kings fan since the 80's, It's Kopitar for me.

Dude has been a rock his entire career. Great defence, good offense, amazing durability. He'll end up 3rd all time in goals, first all time in assists (probably in the next couple days) and it would surprise me if he doesn't finish as the franchise all time leading scorer. Already all time games played leader (though Doughty could eventually pass him conceivably). Others have been more talented, sure, but Kopi will go down as the greatest.

Would you say Kopitar, Gretzky then Dionne as the top 3 Kings? Or do you have another preference.

 

[Gurglesons]

Yes but we already know that players playing in the east have a voting advantage when it comes to awards. Neither of those two are locks for the HOF while Kopitar is.

Are we talking careers or the period which I was quoted in saying Kopitar wasn’t a top 3 center or 2B to Malkin?

Because if your argument is Kopitar had a better career than Giroux or Tavares, I probably agree. But the post you originally quoted was about someone saying Kopitar was a top 3 forward from 11-12 to 13-14 which is simply not true.

 

[Nasti]

Would you say Kopitar, Gretzky then Dionne as the top 3 Kings? Or do you have another preference.

I honestly feel like Gretzky should be in his own separate category. His importance transcended the Kings and was the face of the sport while growing the game in the south. It’s hard to compare that to guys who just played hockey.

 

[Nasti]

Are we talking careers or the period which I was quoted in saying Kopitar wasn’t a top 3 center or 2B to Malkin?

Because if your argument is Kopitar had a better career than Giroux or Tavares, I probably agree. But the post you originally quoted was about someone saying Kopitar was a top 3 forward from 11-12 to 13-14 which is simply not true.

We’re talking about the same thing. There were many people who considered Kopitar to be one of the top players back then and he’s always been labeled as underrated. I don’t personally know how high I’d rank him but I always felt he was better than those guys.

 

[Bandit]

Would you say Kopitar, Gretzky then Dionne as the top 3 Kings? Or do you have another preference.

I’m sure many people will have kittens for me saying this but Brown is second IMO. I’d even put Dave Taylor and Robitaille ahead of Gretzky when classifying “greatest King”. And that’s the problem with these types of threads, nobody can agree on the definition of the term.

Seeing all of Gretzky’s years as a King, going to many games at the Forum and seeing him live was a treat. There is zero question he (and Dionne) were superior players, but there’s more to being the greatest king than raw skill. Kopitar and Brown delivered on something I thought I might never see in my lifetime, not once but twice. Both are also LA Kings lifers.

Hell Dionne was a Wing, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone calling him “the greatest Wing” over Yzerman or Howe.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Kopitar ageless wonder. Elite. Cups.

 

[Agent Zuuuub]

Kopitar reminds me of Alfredsson from the Senators.

Everyone around the league acknowledges they were great but would always rank other lesser but more flashy players ahead.

But only Ottawa and LA fans who watched every game knew how great they were not just as players but as personalities and leaders and how that bled into their games.

 

[toddkaz]

When people start these threads my guess is they never watched Dionne, Gretzky, or Luc Robitaille play.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

When people start these threads my guess is they never watched Dionne, Gretzky, or Luc Robitaille play.

Plenty of us did all of the above

But the criteria for 'greatest King' vs. 'best overall player' is debatable

To many of us though it's not, Kopitar is spending his entire career in a Kings sweater and rewriting the whole record book while being a world class player and ambassador. Gretz never brought us a Cup. Luc left twice, he's about as Judas as Rob Blake. Dionne is a phenom but like @Bandit says above he's still behind Kopitar at the very elast.