Kings star Anze Kopitar has signed a great, big seven-year extension, a contract that will lock him up until 2015-16 when he will still be just 28 years old.

Kopitar's still got a pretty low profile in the league, likely because of where he plays, but he's going to be a superstar in the NHL for a long, long time. Last season as a 20-year-old, he put up 32 goals and 77 points on a last-place team.

"This is really exciting and a little overwhelming to be honest," Kopitar said Saturday morning in San Jose. "I am happy to be apart of this organization for the next eight years. I can focus now on hockey-only and on doing what I want to do, which is to bring the Stanley Cup to L.A. I am also excited to remain with a great group of players who have gotten the same commitment from our organization. We are looking forward to growing together and to building something special here."

Rich Hammond will have the contract terms shortly, I believe.

UPDATE Here's Kings GM Dean Lombardi: "Anze is a special player, but he has also shown a strong work ethic and the type character we believe is necessary to help shape the core of our team. Along with some of our other young core players, the commitment Kopitar has shown at a young age should continue to improve and elevate his teammates and the franchise.

"This agreement is another critical step forward in our building process, and it also demonstrates to our fans our organization’s commitment to building the right way. However, we are not done. There is still more work to do, on and off the ice."

UPDATE It's a $47.6-million contract, which averages out to a $6.8-million a season cap hit. That's a steep figure to start given his age and experience, and probably makes him one of the 30-40 highest paid players in the league next season.

UPDATE The Los Angeles Times has a good feature on him in today's paper.
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