Los Angeles Kings Demote Dustin Brown, Change Captaincy

Los Angeles Kings Stripped Dustin Brown of his Captaincy, Anze Kopitar to Wear “C” Moving Forward

Los Angeles Kings have a new captain. Anze Kopitar becomes the 15th player to wear the “C” (16th if you include Luc Robitaille‘s 39-game stint while Wayne Gretzky was injured in 1992-93) since their inception in the late 1960s.

GM Dean Lombardi stripped Dustin Brown of the captaincy after a pair of disappointing seasons. Brown had worn the “C” since 2008, and was a key piece to two Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup victories.

The Kings GM also announced the organization has no interest in buying out Dustin Brown’s contract at this time.

Lombardi believes Dustin is still in his prime and can turn things around. Although truth to be told, it likely has more to do with the fact that LA would be on the hook until 2028 – doesn’t make sense when they’re already paying Mike Richards through 2032. 

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The news today was expected after rumors in recent weeks. Anze Kopitar is the unquestionable leader on this leader.

A captain needs to have a good presence in the dressing room/off the ice, but they also need to lead by example on the ice. Switching to the elite two-way center is a logical choice for the Los Angeles Kings.

While the headline here is Anze Kopitar, there are still several question marks moving forward.

A subtle comment, but interesting was the fact that Dean Lombardi believes Dustin Brown is still in his prime and can re-establish himself. Now, let’s not say no indisputably, it’s just that the odds are severely stacked against him.

Now a third line physical role player, paid like a second-liner ($5.875 million dollars/year), his production has fallen off the map – but there’s still long-term value there.

His salary dips to $5.5 million in 2018-19 and 2019-20, then to $4 million in 2020-21 and 2021-22. While he still carries the $5.875 million dollar cap hit, those annual salaries should range around the average for a third-liner at that time.

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The possibility of a future buyout is always there as well. For each season that goes by, that would be two fewer years the Los Angeles Kings would on the hook for his buyout cap hit.

For example, if his play continues to diminish, Lombardi can re-explore the option next summer. Instead of paying brown from 2016 through 2028, LA would pay him from 2017 through 2026. Fast forward to the summer of 2018, the Kings would only need to pay his cap hit through 2024, so on and so forth.

A trade seems unlikely, even if a market opened up for Dustin Brown. Conceivably, LA would need to retain close to the full 50 percent of his salary. If they are forced to retain half or even 25 percent, the buyout avenue carries a similar cap hit, except that Los Angeles saves $11 million dollars. The only way Dustin Brown is dealt is another team absorbing the majority chunk of his lucrative contract.

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That contract looks terrible right now, but if Brown can at least keep his play at the current level without anymore decline, it won’t look so bad a few years down the road. If the Kings are lucky, GM Dean Lombardi will be correct and Dustin Brown’s play bounces back. However, if he continues to see diminished ice-time, we could be having this same discussion around this time next year.