Anze Kopitar and Kings reach agreement on eight-year, $80-million contract
Kings center Anze Kopitar brings the puck up the ice against Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas during the first period of a game on Jan. 2.
It took a few days longer than expected, but in the end the Los Angeles Kings and center Anze Kopitar came to terms on an eight-year, $80-million contract extension.
The deal came together hours before the Kings were to play a Saturday afternoon matinee against the Ottawa Senators. Kopitar was scheduled to address reporters after the game about the effect of the deal that keeps him signed with the club through the 2023-24 season.
The Kopitar deal, as expected, is north of the extensions signed by the likes of Ducks forwards Corey Perry ($69 million) and Ryan Getzlaf ($66 million), who each signed for eight years, and just shy of the deals for Chicago stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane ($84 million each). The deals keep Toews and Kane tied to the Blackhawks through the 2022-23 season.
For Kopitar, the first four years of the contract extension feature a no-move clause, and the final four include a limited no-trade clause, according to a source familiar with the negotiations who was not authorized to comment.
The contract puts Kopitar in the upper echelon of league stars and allows the Kings to keep their Stanley Cup nucleus in place. The first two years of the contract are for $14 million and $13 million -- which include a reported signing bonus in each of those years. The money drops to $7 million for the final two years.
The Kings and Kopitar broke new ground for the franchise in the salary-cap era. Previously, the team’s biggest deal was goalie Jonathan Quick’s 10-year contract worth $58 million.
In contrast, the Quick contract extension came together with uncommon speed as negotiations played out in a matter of weeks, not months, after the Kings won the Stanley Cup in 2012.
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Follow Lisa Dillman on Twitter: @reallisa
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