New Front Office Structure Gives Washington «Dynamic Leadership Team»
Chris Patrick was named senior vice president and general manager of the Washington Capitals on Monday.
Brian MacLellan, who served as the Capitals’ general manager for the past 10 seasons, will continue to serve as president of hockey operations, a position he added in 2023. The 65-year-old will continue to oversee all aspects of hockey operations, and Patrick will report to him.
Patrick is the seventh general manager in Capitals history. The 48-year-old recently completed his 16th season with the Cheap NHL Washington Capitals Jerseys and his first as assistant general manager.
«We are excited to announce Chris’ promotion to general manager,» said Capitals owner Ted Leonsis. «Chris is a dedicated and hard-working executive who is well prepared for the next step in his career. His vision, extensive experience, keen eye for hockey and evaluation of players make him the perfect leader to take our team forward. We are confident he will thrive in this new role.»
Patrick joined the Capitals in 2008 in a player development and scouting position and has served as a pro scout, director of player personnel, assistant general manager and deputy general manager. As deputy general manager, Patrick was responsible for Washington’s analytics department, player contract negotiations, hockey operations staff, player personnel, and budget and team scheduling matters.
In addition, Patrick managed the Capitals’ professional scouting staff and worked closely with Washington’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, which won the Calder Cup the past two seasons.
While managing Hershey, Patrick played a key role in developing numerous Capitals rookies to the NHL level. He also hired two coaches, Spencer Carberry and Todd Nelson, who had won the AHL Coach of the Year award with Hershey; Carberry was named the Capitals coach on May 30, 2023. In his previous position, Patrick was responsible for scouting draft players at the college and youth levels.
He is the son of Capitals Chairman Dick Patrick and the great-grandson of Hockey Hall of Fame player, coach and executive Lester Patrick.
Chris Patrick was born in Leesburg, Virginia, and grew up playing hockey in the Washington area, with the Capital Beltway Hockey League and the Caps. He played two seasons as a forward at Princeton University and was selected by the Washington Capitals ice hockey Jerseys Personalisable in the eighth round (197th overall) of the 1994 NHL draft, but never played a professional game.
«With Dick Patrick as Chairman, Brian as President and Chris as General Manager, we believe we have a dynamic leadership team that can continue to lead our Hockey Operations department forward,» Leonsis said. «Brian has done an outstanding job as the head of our hockey operations department over the past decade, helping to bring the Stanley Cup to Washington and keeping our franchise consistently competitive. Brian’s leadership, experience and vision for our hockey franchise, combined with Chris’ impressive track record and successful tenure as an executive, talent evaluator and guardian of minor league partnerships, positions our hockey operations team for a successful future.»
This will be McLellan’s 24th season with the Capitals, during which he has served as general manager, assistant general manager, director of player personnel and pro scout. He was named general manager on May 26, 2014, succeeding George McPhee.
During McLellan’s tenure as general manager, Washington has a record of 449-244-88, the third-most wins in the NHL during that period, behind only the Tampa Bay Lightning (475) and the Boston Bruins (466). McLellan’s .631 OPS is the third-highest in NHL history among general managers with at least 500 games of experience, trailing only Sam Pollock (Montreal Canadiens, 1964-78, .685) and Don Sweeney (Boston Bruins, 2015-present, .665).
In McLellan’s 10 seasons as general manager, the Capitals advanced to the Stanley Cup Playoffs nine times, captured their first Stanley Cup in 2018, won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2016 and 2017, and set a franchise record with five consecutive division titles from 2015-16 to 2019-20.
McLellan won the Stanley Cup in 1989 as a player with the Calgary Flames and in 10 NHL seasons, playing as a forward for Calgary, the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars and Detroit Red Wings, totaling 413 points (172 goals, 241 assists) in 606 games.