At the end of May it was reported by multiple sources that the Los Angeles Kings were going to remove Dustin Brown as captain of the team. Just around two weeks after that was confirmed by team sources, Dean Lombardi furthered his offseason insight into the "Changes" and "Direction" the team would be enduring.
Anze Kopitar is set to become the Kings 14th captain, replacing Dustin Brown
per a team press release after it was tweeted out by LA Kings Insider Jon Rosen.
As Rosen also put it out there on twitter, this seems to be a move in putting greater emphasis on the current "Franchise" players if you will. With that in mind the feeling is that Doughty will receive an A.
Brown served eight years as the Kings locker room leader, twice lifting the cup and becoming just the second U.S. born captain to win a cup. He was also the youngest captain in Kings history. Kopitar has been an alternate since then as well.
While this is ultimately a minor change in terms of role, considering you really do not need a letter on your chest to be a leader in the locker room, it is another in what is expected to be a long series of mentality changes in the Kings moving forward. While minor, it does seem necessary given all that has transpired over the past two season. It has been a harsh offseason already on Brown after a tumultuous couple of years, and the latest expansion draft talk is probably not settling to the now over 30 winger. With a less prominent media role in the locker room, the reality of him not finishing his career as a King seems all the more possible at this point.
Kopitar, 28, has no doubt been the Kings leader on the ice in both style and productivity over the last six to seven years, and now he gets the opportunity to be the No. 1 off the ice as well. He was the natural choice, and even in his now late 20s is still evolving as a player. There was probably no doubt Kopitar was the choice once it was announced Brown was out, as Doughty may be a bit too animated and emotional (which isn't a bad thing) for a captaincy role, while Jeff Carter remains a non "home grown" player. That is a trend that has been common with Kings captains over the years (Mattias Norstrom, Dustin Brown, Rob Blake, Dave Taylor).
Is there more to come from the Kings prior to the draft? They have already been in the news with Brown, Lucic, and now this, so who knows. More to come as we prep for the draft and as we start to investigate more on the roster possibilities of an impending expansion draft.
Clink on the bolded links if you missed the articles on our explanation of the
decline of Dustin Brown, or the
dangerous territory the Kings are in with Milan Lucic.
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