Kings retire Dustin Brown number, unveil statue outside Crypto.com Arena

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Los Angeles Kings’ Dustin Brown lifts the Stanley Cup in a ceremony as his jersey number is retired and a statue of his odds is unveiled at the entrance to the arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings retired Dustin Brown’s number 23 and unveiled a statue of the franchise’s career games played outside Crypto.com Arena ahead of Saturday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

A banner with Brown’s number was raised to the rafters in an on-ice ceremony, which featured several Kings legends and former Brown teammates. The unveiling of the statue followed and was shown in the arena on the centrally suspended high definition scoreboard and video display screens.

Both ceremonies were broadcast live on Bally Sports West.

Brown played a record 1,296 games for the Kings from his debut at age 18 on Oct. 9, 2003 until the end of last season. He captained the Kings to their two Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014.

Brown is the seventh Kings player to have his number retired and the third with a statue outside the arena.

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“Having my number retired is something I never would have imagined and it’s a humbling honor,” Brown said in July when it was announced that his jersey would be retired and a status from him. would be placed outside the arena where he played for his entire 18-season NHL career. .

“I’m incredibly proud to have played for the Los Angeles Kings for my entire career. With my number going all the way to the rafters, I’m honored to be among the great Kings, but it reminds me of the two banners already in the rafters, of which I am very proud. It took many people to hoist these two banners, the same goes for this one.

Brown was selected by the Kings with the 13th pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He is sixth in team history with 325 goals, seventh in points with 712 and eighth in assists with 387.

Brown became the Kings’ captain in his fifth NHL season, their youngest captain at 23, and the first American-born captain in team history. Brown served as captain for eight seasons, where the Kings qualified for the playoffs six times, including five consecutive seasons from 2009-10 to 2013-14.

“Since Dustin joined our organization nearly 20 years ago, he has represented the Los Angeles Kings with incredible class and passion,” said Kings president Luc Robitaille, who also has a statue in his honor outside the arena and his number has been retired.

“In addition to enjoying an outstanding playing career and leading us to times we’ve never had with two Stanley Cups, he stood out in the Southern California community and blazed a trail. of our franchise.”

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