LA Kings name Anze Kopitar captain, replacing Dustin Brown after 8 seasons

The Los Angeles Kings have announced center Anze Kopitar as the team’s new captain, taking over for longtime captain Dustin Brown.

Kopitar and Brown, who have spent their entire careers with the franchise, teamed to lead the Kings to the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014.

Kopitar, who has played for the Kings for 10 seasons, has been assistant captain since 2008. He scored 25 goals and totaled 74 points, leading the Kings in scoring for a record-setting ninth consecutive season.

The 28-year-old native of Slovenia ranks sixth on the Kings career scoring list with 684 points in 764 regular-season games. He signed an eight-year contract extension with the Kings in January, which runs through the 2023-24 season.

Brown, who debuted with the team during the 2003-04 season, had been the club’s captain since 2008. He has tallied 470 points in 884 regular-season games, but has scored just 11 goals each of the past two seasons and hasn’t had a 30-point season since 2012.

The Kings gave the 31-year-old native of Ithaca, N.Y., an eight-year contract extension after the 2013 season. It has five years and $28.5 million remaining.

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