LOS ANGELES — When Clayton Kershaw totes his white-hot ball of competitive fire to the mound Thursday afternoon, it will be his franchise-record eighth consecutive Opening Day start.

The Dodgers are undefeated in the previous seven and Kershaw kicked off seasons that saw the Dodgers average 91.6 wins per year, win five consecutive NL West titles, make the NLCS twice in the past three years and the World Series last fall.

But this might be the last time the Dodgers send Kershaw to the mound on Opening Day, the last year he tries to lead them to their first World Series title since … well, you know.

“I don’t want to think about that,” teammate Kike’ Hernandez said when that possibility was raised. “It’s a possibility. It’s all business. … One way or another, I don’t want to think about that.”

It is a possibility because the seven-year, $215 million contract extension Kershaw signed in January 2014 includes an opt-out clause that allows Kershaw to become a free agent next winter.

“It’s in the back of our mind, but we’re so focused on winning a championship. We’re so focused on getting back and winning a championship and we know he is,” said Kenley Jansen, Kershaw’s teammate since 2010. “I’m telling you, once we get to the offseason – and hopefully we win it – it’s going to be interesting.

“I would say this – I wish the best for him and his family. But we really want him to be a Dodger. He’s a Dodger for life. We all know when he retires he needs to retire as a Dodger. There’s no other team for him to play for, to be honest with you.”

Isn’t there?

Kershaw will be leaving two years and $65 million in salary behind if he opts out of his current contract. Any new deal would likely have an annual average value north of $35 million – $40 million per year has been suggested – and stretch deep into the danger zone of his 30s. That kind of commitment would narrow the field considerably. Kershaw’s recent history of back problems and his heavy workload before age 30 (over 2,000 innings when the postseason is included) might give others pause.

“It’s hard to picture anyone in a different uniform, when you think about it,” Hernandez said when asked if he could picture Kershaw in another team’s uniform. “It’s hard for me. I played for three teams and whenever I see a picture of myself in a different uniform I think, ‘What the hell is that?’ So – no.

“I don’t know. What are the reasons you would walk away? Are you trying to win one? Where else would you want to play? The only other place is Texas. But – I don’t know.”

That is the team everyone suggests as L.A.’s No. 1 enemy if Kershaw does become a free agent – his hometown Texas Rangers. What an asset it would be for the Rangers to have Kershaw starting Opening Day for them when their new stadium opens in 2020.

“I think there’s a number of benefits from having a guy like Kersh,” veteran Chase Utley said when asked to assess the value of having Kershaw on your team. “The easy one to see is he’s the best pitcher in baseball. Every fifth day, you’ve got him on the mound and you know he’s as prepared as anybody is going to be. For me, I respect that and you as an individual want to do well for him because you see how much time he puts in in between starts.

“The second reason – guys also see what he does. So I think it elevates everyone else’s game around him because they see what he does in the weight room. They see what he does in the video room. They see how he goes about his business and you can see guys trying to emulate that and take that upon themselves. So, one, he helps us every five days with a great chance to win. And, two, he makes guys around him better.”

Kershaw is both a leader and a role model, Utley said. For the younger players now filling the Dodgers’ clubhouse, he is a sweating, straining reminder not to get complacent.

“When you have nothing to prove and you have all the money in the world, it’d be easy to sit back and relax pretty much,” Hernandez said. “For him? Nothing’s good enough for him. He’s the best pitcher in the game and he’s still looking for ways to get better every single day.”

Kershaw “sets that tone for everybody with his work ethic and the way he competes,” Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes said.

“The way he competes is second to none,” Barnes said. “He brings that intensity and shows what it takes to be that good.”

The prospect that this might be the Dodgers’ last chance to win with Kershaw is not something any of his teammates want to think about – “we’re just happy to have him, for sure,” Barnes said.

Kershaw and the Dodgers’ front office have answered questions about his contract situation only grudgingly, revealing little. It’s nice to have options, Kershaw said. There is an open dialogue, GM Farhan Zaidi said.

Asked directly if he had thought about the possibility of this being his last year with the Dodgers, Kershaw said he hadn’t.

“No, not really,” he said. “I don’t really think like that.”

It is almost unthinkable. Until it’s not.