The Los Angeles Kings will retire Dustin Brown’s No. 23 in a ceremony next February prior to ta game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. In addition, the franchise plans to unveil a statue for the Kings forward outside of Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 11, 2023.
After spending his entire 18-year career with the Kings, Brown retired following the 2021-22 season.
“Having my number retired is something I never imagined and is a humbling honor,” Brown said in a press release. “I am incredibly proud that I played for the L.A. Kings my entire career. With my number going to the rafters, I am honored to be amongst the King Greats, but it makes me think of the two banners already in the rafters, of which I am most proud. It took numerous people to raise those two banners; the same is true for this one. Thank you to all who have helped me achieve my dreams.”
Brown, who spent eight seasons as the Kings’ captain, will be just the third player in franchise history to have a statue outside of Crypto.com Arena as he joins Wayne Gretzky and Luc Robitaille. The winger is also just the seventh player to have his number retired by the team along with Gretzky (No. 99), Marcel Dionne (No. 16), Rob Blake (No. 4), Robitaille (No. 20), Rogie Vachon (No. 30), and Dave Taylor (18).
“Since Dustin first joined our organization nearly 20 years ago, he has represented the L.A. Kings with incredible class and passion,” Kings president Luc Robitaille added. “In addition to enjoying an outstanding playing career and leading us to moments we had never experienced with two Stanley Cups, he has been a standout in the Southern California community and set the course for our franchise. This is indeed a very well-deserved honor and I look forward to an incredible celebration for Dustin, Nicole, and their family, while sharing his legacy with our fans at our home arena for what promises to be a special night.”
Throughout his NHL career, Brown tallied 325 goals and 387 assists and was an integral part of the Kings’ two Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014. Brown ranks first in Kings history in all-time games played (1,296), fourth in power-play goals (105), sixth in goals (325), sixth in game-winning goals (42), eighth in assists (387), and seventh in points (712). He’s also one of two players in NHL history, along with former Dallas Stars great Joe Nieuwendyk, to score at least one goal in his 1,000th, 1,100th, and 1,200th career regular season game and the only player to do all of that with one franchise.
Brown also was selected to the 2009 NHL All-Star Game and is the only player in franchise history to play 18 seasons with the team. The American-born forward was originally taken by the Kings with the No. 13 pick in the 2003 NHL Draft.
