Anze Kopitar Hart Trophy 2014

Lore & Background

The 2013–14 campaign was Kopitar's breakout on the grandest stage. Playing alongside Dwayne Roloson and Drew Doughty in a Kings system built on structure and two-way excellence, he logged 146 points—leading the entire NHL in scoring, assists, and points per game among regulars. His 98 assists were a league-high, a testament to his vision, patience, and ability to create from the neutral zone. Yet what separated Kopitar from pure point-chasers was his defensive reliability: he was a plus-minus asset who won faceoffs, killed penalties, and played the forecheck with relentless energy. The Hart Trophy, long associated with the most glamorous offensive stars, finally acknowledged that the game's most complete player could be a quiet, methodical centre from Ljubljana.

The significance extended beyond one season. Before Kopitar, the Hart had been a de facto North American award, with European stars like Peter Forsberg and Jaromír Jágr collecting other trophies but rarely the league's top individual honour. Kopitar's win shattered that unspoken barrier and reframed how voters evaluated international talent. For the Kings, it validated a rebuilding project that had been in the making since the early 2000s and gave the franchise a modern icon whose individual accolade matched the team's eventual 2012 Stanley Cup triumph.

In the broader narrative of Los Angeles hockey, Kopitar's Hart sits alongside the 2012 Cup as one of the franchise's defining individual achievements. It proved that the Kings could produce not just a championship team but a player whose excellence was recognised across the entire league, regardless of market size or media attention. The trophy remains a touchstone for every European player who has since chased the Hart, a reminder that the standard is universal and the door is open.

In Their Own Story

The arena was nearly empty when the trophy arrived. Kopitar sat in the visitors' dressing room at the Staples Centre, still in his skates, ice melting around his ankles in small rivulets on the concrete floor. A teammate had just hung up the phone after the Writers' Association call. The room went quiet in that particular way—no one spoke, no one moved, the only sound the drip of melted ice and the low hum of the fluorescent lights overhead. Then someone laughed, a short, disbelieving bark, and the silence broke into a roar of shouting, of jerseys being thrown, of a Slovenian centre who had given his twenties to a team in a city that had not always loved him, finally holding the league's highest individual honour in both hands. He looked at the trophy, turned it slowly in the harsh light, and said nothing for a long time. The ice kept dripping. The night kept going.

Reader's Guide

Anže Kopitar – Hart Memorial Trophy, 2013–14 Season

Who: Anže Kopitar, centre, Los Angeles Kings (Slovenia) When: Awarded June 2014 for the 2013–14 regular season Context: Kopitar led the NHL in points (146), assists (98), and goals (48), while anchoring a Kings team that finished in the Western Conference top five. He was named to the NHL First All-Star Team and also captured the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer.

Key numbers at a glance: • Points: 146 (NHL-leading) • Goals: 48 • Assists: 98 (NHL-leading) • Games played: 82 • Plus/minus: +20

Comparison: Kopitar's 146 points gave him a comfortable margin over the next-best scorer, and his 98-assist total was the league high by a wide gap. The Hart voting, conducted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, reflected a broad consensus rather than a narrow split—Kopitar's two-way dominance and leadership role made him a clear-cut choice over other high-scoring forwards who lacked his defensive profile.

What made it historic: Kopitar became the first European-born player to win the Hart Memorial Trophy, breaking a long-standing pattern in which the award had been claimed almost exclusively by North American players. His victory was widely seen as a recognition that the NHL's best player could now come from anywhere, and it opened the door for subsequent European Hart winners.

Did You Know?

• Anže Kopitar was the first European-born player in NHL history to win the Hart Memorial Trophy, breaking a decades-long pattern of North American recipients.
• In the same 2013–14 season, Kopitar also won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer, collecting both individual scoring and MVP honours in one campaign.
• Kopitar was drafted 11th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2005, making his Hart Trophy win a remarkable journey from a mid-first-round pick to the league's most valuable player.
• Kopitar's 98 assists in 2013–14 were not just a league-leading total but a testament to his role as the Kings' primary playmaker, orchestrating offence from the neutral zone and faceoff circle.