Kings honor longtime captain Dustin Brown with jersey retirement, unveiling of statue outside Crypto.com Arena

Dustin Brown has taken his place as one of the greatest players in Los Angeles Kings history. Before Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Kings retired No. 23 Brown and unveiled a statue in his likeness outside the Crypto.com arena.

Brown announced his retirement following the Kings’ 2021–2022 season and ended his career with a pair of Stanley Cup rings and a franchise record for most games played with 1,296 games. Brown now becomes the seventh player in Kings history to have his number retired and the fourth member of the organization to receive a statue, joining Wayne Gretzky, Luke Robitaille and broadcaster Bob Miller.

Before Brown’s number was pushed to the limit, Brown took the podium to share a few memories and thank those who supported him along the way. One of the first things Brown did when he began his speech was to thank his parents for being by his side on this special evening.

Despite being drafted in the first round, Brown quickly realized that he knew little about playing at the NHL level. For that matter, he didn’t know much about parking at the NHL level.

Brown and Drew Doughty were not only the main players of the two Stanley Cup teams, but also great friends. Brown took the time to thank Doughty for his comedic contributions off the ice as well as his performance on it.

As part of the ceremony, the Kings aired a tribute video for Brown, in which a number of his former teammates, as well as former head coach Darryl Sutter, talked about the impact he had on the franchise.

Once Brown had finished speaking, it was time to lift No. 23 to the rafters of the Crypto.com Arena for good. Brown, alongside his wife and children, witnessed his name and number take their place among NHL legends.

The Kings selected Brown with the 13th overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, and in 2008 he became the team’s 13th captain. Just a few years later, in 2012, Brown led the Kings to the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Two years after that, Brown led the Kings to another Stanley Cup in 2014.

Brown has endured aerobatics for an NHL player, but he has also shown perseverance in the face of adversity. In 2016, after several bad years, Brown was stripped of the captaincy and replaced by Anze Kopitar.

Undeterred, Brown bounced back in 2017-18 to finish his career year with 61 points. Since then, Brown has remained a key player for the Kings during the final season of his NHL career.

It is a great honor for Brown to have his number removed from circulation and receive a statue, but he is most proud of what the two Stanley Cup teams have been able to achieve.

“The cancellation of my number is something I could never have imagined and it is a great honor.” Brown told the Kings official website about this.. “I am incredibly proud to have played for the Los Angeles Kings my entire career. Since my number goes to the rafters, I am honored to be among the great kings, but it makes me think of two banners that are already on the rafters, of which I am very proud.

“It took a lot of people to raise these two banners; the same is true for this. Thanks to everyone who helped me make my dreams come true.”

Brown retired at the top or nearly every category in the Kings franchise record book. Brown is sixth in goals (325), eighth in assists (387) and seventh in points (712).