Brown keeping close eye on Kings in retirement

BOSTON -- Dustin Brown is the Los Angeles Kings personified.

Brown played all 18 of his NHL seasons with the Kings, including eight as captain, during which he helped them win the Stanley Cup twice (2012, 2014), before retiring following the 2021-22 season. Los Angeles then retired his No. 23 and unveiled a statue in his honor on Feb. 11, 2023.

As a result, Brown still follows his former team closely, but after moving with his family to Buffalo (Brown is originally from Ithaca, New York), he's had to cut a few corners.

“I watch as much as I can,” Brown told NHL.com. “It’s tough being on the East Coast for a West Coast team. So I watch the first period, fall asleep, then I watch the 10-minute recap the next morning on YouTube or wherever.”

Time difference aside, Brown, who was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame on Wednesday, remains in close contact with his former teammates, in particular Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, which he calls a “brotherhood.”

But he's also stayed connected with younger players such as Quinton Byfield and Mikey Anderson. After Byfield scored two goals in a 4-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, Brown texted to congratulate him, but he also had something to say about the forward's two missed chances at an empty net.

“I just sent him a meme or clip of Happy Gilmore saying, ‘Is this goal regulation sized?’” Brown said. “Just to keep it loose because that’s how I always was with them, but when they have good games, I just let them know I’m watching.”

And so far, Brown has liked what he's seen.

Los Angeles (15-4-3) is currently third in the NHL in points percentage (.750) and is the only team still undefeated on the road (10-0-0).

“It’s a new thing for Kings fans to actually have a team that’s played well at the start of the year,” Brown said. “Even when we had championship teams, the regular season was a grind for us for whatever reason. Every single year we were fighting and clawing, and they’re playing really well right now. They’re on a roll. They got the mojo going.”

Brown believes the culture established during his tenure has played a big part in the Kings’ current success, especially with Kopitar and Doughty bridging the gap between the past and present.

That's important because of the way the game has changed since Brown entered the League during the 2003-04 season, with speed and skill roles being favored more than the enforcer ones that Brown embraced.

As such, Brown said he's happy to have played in the era that he did, but he’s still excited about the future of the Kings and the NHL as a whole.

“I think that’s good for the game, especially with how the media and how kids are watching,” Brown said. “They’re on YouTube 24/7 looking at highlights, and it’s just building up [the game], and I think the kids are all learning from what these players are doing. It’s pretty incredible.”