Kopitar, Greatest King

[Ghost of Murph]

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

It's very reasonable to think that Kopitar is the greatest King, and I watched the other players. There is more to hockey than offense. Kopitar is one of the best two-way centers in history. If he hadn't been playing in the same gen as Bergeron (the greatest two-way center in NHL history), Kopitar would have even more Selkes.

Dionne, Robitaille, and Gretzky were fabulous offensive weapons, but they were not nearly as complete a player as Kopitar. Additionally none of them led the Kings to a Cup. Kopitar has 2 cups, and has played at a time of great league parity, much of that time being in an era not known for ease of scoring.

 

[WTFMAN99]

I still remember the hesitation at the draft because he was from Slovenia.

I also remember one time Phaneuf put him into the boards and it looked like a car crash and he somehow got up....this thought is more random.

Because of the team success, longevity and just what he means to franchise, he's going to be going down as the best King of all time for sure.

It'll be interesting to see where Doughty ends up in that conversation.

 

[featherhawk]

Legend, Kopitar will be a first ballot Hall of famer

 

[Paper]

There is no way he doesn't get his second PPG season. Absolutely none.

 

[NVious]

Players/coaches who made massive strides after playing with PLD:
Torts
Kopi
Ovi

PLD is just an inspirational figure that knows how to rejuvenate careers.

If you have a struggling vet, try and get him around PLD so he can show that old dog how the young bucks do it.

 

[eojsmada]

It's very reasonable to think that Kopitar is the greatest King, and I watched the other players. There is more to hockey than offense. Kopitar is one of the best two-way centers in history. If he hadn't been playing in the same gen as Bergeron (the greatest two-way center in NHL history), Kopitar would have even more Selkes.

Dionne, Robitaille, and Gretzky were fabulous offensive weapons, but they were not nearly as complete a player as Kopitar. Additionally none of them led the Kings to a Cup. Kopitar has 2 cups, and has played at a time of great league parity, much of that time being in an era not known for ease of scoring.

Also because none of Dionne, Robitaille, or Gretzky played their entire career with the Kings.

 

[dabeechman]

Id take 19 seasons of Kopi over 8 seasons of Gretzky. There is an argument for the best overall player, and the greatest King. I'd say Kopi is the greatest King. Honorable mention to Brown, who was not the most gifted player, but a great King.

 

[Hennessy]

I think there's a pretty solid argument for Kopitar being the Kings' top guy over Dionne, Taylor or Robitaille and I don't think it's that controversial or weird.

 

[Bandit]

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

I saw Gretzky and Robitaille's entire Kings careers, much of it in person. "Greatest King Ever" != "Greatest player ever to play for the Kings". The former is Anze Kopitar. The latter is obviously either Anson Carter or Cliff Ronning.

 

[dabeechman]

I saw Gretzky and Robitaille's entire Kings careers, much of it in person. "Greatest King Ever" != "Greatest player ever to play for the Kings". The former is Anze Kopitar. The latter is obviously either Anson Carter or Cliff Ronning.

No honorable mention for Dan "Beach Ball" Cloutier is criminal. At least act like you're a King's fan.

 

[dabeechman]

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

As a kid, I would wait out in front of the Great Western Forum and players like Gretzky, Luc, Kurri, McSorely, etc. would come out and sign jerseys on the way to their cars. After they left, we'd dumpster dive and grab sealed sandwiches from the game that they couldn't sell. As trashy as it sounds, I miss those days.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

. After they left, we'd dumpster dive and grab sealed sandwiches from the game that they couldn't sell. As trashy as it sounds,

I see what you did there

 

[dabeechman]

I see what you did there

Rye not make a joke? You're bacon me smile, so lettuce have a laugh while I am on a roll.

 

[TheFinalWord]

The irony of this take is that Gretzky couldn’t take care of himself on the ice and the guy who did it for most of his career cost Gretz the Cup in ‘93

So Marty's curve cost them 4 games in a 4-1 series lost? That's some curve.

 

[Gliff]

Ducks fan here that hated Brown, Doughty, and Quick. I love Kopi. Nothing bad to say about the guy.

 

[zombie kopitar]

Nothing bad to say about the guy.

He looks like a zombie

 

[Gliff]

He looks like a zombie

Some people are into that.

 

[Dueling Banjos]

Again name star wingers he was playing with, Gaborik for a short period, other than that..

 

[Nasti]

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

There is zero argument for Luc Robitaille over Kopitar. Whether you’re talking about greatest King or greatest player, Kopitar is ahead of Luc on both.

 

[Quinning]

It took about 30 games to realize that we in Canuckland had made a massive, massive mistake in passing on this guy. RIP to Luc, but he was never going to perform at this level for such a long time.

 

[dabeechman]

It took about 30 games to realize that we in Canuckland had made a massive, massive mistake in passing on this guy. RIP to Luc, but he was never going to perform at this level for such a long time.

Game #1 when he went around Pronger like he was a pylon was all most of us needed to see to be honest.

 

[Trash Panda]

Again name star wingers he was playing with, Gaborik for a short period, other than that..

And other than that magical playoff run in 2014, the dude was a shell of his former self.

 

[x Tame Impala]

One of the best in the league post-lockout. Few players Im a bigger fan of than Jonathan Toews but Kopitar has always been his peer in my eyes. It’ll be a sad day in LA when he retires.

 

[Schennanigans]

Without a doubt he is.

 

[Felidae]

What amazes me about his longevity as an elite player is that Kopitar is 2nd only to McDavid for the highest ATOI among active forwards, and he's also 2nd in GP (1400+), only missing 42 games in his career as someone else previously stated. You could argue he's had the most physically taxing career among all active forwards.

He really shouldnt be aging as well as he has, yet his production has stayed roughly the same from 31 years old till now, and he's on pace to have his best offensive season from a raw numbers and point placement standpoint since his Hart finalist year.