LA Kings' captain Anze Kopitar has been awarded the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the third time in his career, joining Wayne Gretzky as the only other player in franchise history to win the award three times. Marcel Dionne and Butch Goring also won the award as LA Kings, giving the franchise a total of eight wins, the most of any non-Original Six franchise (Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York Rangers, and Toronto.)
And the "Nicest NHL Player" award goes to... 🏆
— NHL (@NHL) June 12, 2025
Anze Kopitar's kids surprised him with his third Lady Byng Memorial Trophy during a day of family golf in Slovenia. 🥹
Catch the 2025 #NHLAwards before Game 4 of the #StanleyCup Final TONIGHT at 6p ET on @NHL_On_TNT and… pic.twitter.com/yoLqTKXgdk
The native of Slovenia now finds himself among an elite group of three-time winners that includes Martin St. Louis, Ron Francis, and Mike Bossy. Only Frank Boucher (7), Wayne Gretzky (5) and Pavel Datsyuk (4) have won more Lady Byng trophies than Kopitar, or as it is known by his children Jakob and Neza, "The Nicest NHL Player" award.
The 19-year veteran received 50 1st place votes, edging out Tampa Bay's Brayden Point and Vegas' Jack Eichel for the 2024-25 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, given out annually to the NHL "player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability."
In 81 games played this season, Kopitar registered 21 goals and 46 assists, while taking just four penalty minutes, tying a career-low in PIM set in the 2022-23 season. The two-time Stanley Cup champion has one year remaining on his current contract and is set to begin his 20th season with the Kings next year.
In addition to his three Lady Byng trophies, Kopitar has two Frank J. Selke trophies (2016, 2018), given to the best defensive forward in the league, and trails franchise point leader Marcel Dionne (1,307) by just 29 points. Barring injury, next year should see Kopitar surpasse Dionne to become the franchise's all-time point leader. In 1,454 games played, Kopitar has 440 goals and 838 assists for a total of 1, 272 points, good for a points per game average of 0.88.