Chris Patrick was named senior vice president and general manager of the Washington Capitals on Monday.
Brian MacLellan, who was Capitals GM the past 10 seasons, will remain president of hockey operations, a title 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 GM in Capitals history. The 48-year-old recently completed his 16th season with them and first as associate GM.
“We are thrilled to announce Chris’ promotion to general manager,” Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said. “Chris is a dedicated and hard-working executive who is fully prepared for this next step in his career. His vision, extensive experience, hockey acumen and player evaluation make him the perfect leader to drive our team forward. We are confident that he will thrive in this new role.”
Patrick joined the Capitals in 2008 in a player development and scouting role and has served as a pro scout, director of player personnel, assistant GM and associate GM. As associate general manager, Patrick oversaw 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 the Hershey Bears, Washington’s American Hockey League affiliate, which has won the Calder Cup the past two seasons.
While overseeing Hershey, Patrick played a crucial role in the development of numerous Capitals prospects to the NHL level. He also hired two coaches, Spencer Carbery and Todd Nelson, who have won AHL Coach of the Year awards with Hershey; Carbery was named Capitals coach May 30, 2023. In his previous positions, Patrick was responsible for scouting drafted players at the collegiate and junior levels.
He is the son of Capitals chairman Dick Patrick and 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 in the Capital Beltway Hockey League and for the Little Caps. He played two seasons as a forward at Princeton University and was selected by the Capitals in the eighth round (No. 197) of the 1994 NHL Draft but never played professionally.
“With Dick Patrick as chairman, Brian as president and Chris as general manager, we believe we have a dynamic leadership team in place to continue to guide our hockey operations department forward,” Leonsis said. “Over the past decade, Brian has excelled as the head of our hockey operations department, helping bring the Stanley Cup to Washington and maintaining our team’s consistent competitiveness. Brian’s leadership, experience, and vision for our hockey team, combined with Chris’ impressive track record and successful tenure as an executive, talent evaluator and guardian of our minor league partnerships, position our hockey operations team for a successful future.”
This will be MacLellan’s 24th season with the Capitals, including stints as GM, assistant GM, director of player personnel and as a professional scout. He was named GM on May 26, 2014, replacing George McPhee.
Washington was 449-244-88 during MacLellan’s tenure as GM, the third-most wins in the NHL during that span, behind the Tampa Bay Lightning (475) and the Boston Bruins (466). MacLellan’s .631 points percentage is the third highest in NHL history among GMs with at least 500 games of experience, trailing Sam Pollock (Montreal Canadiens, 1964-78, .685) and Don Sweeney (Boston Bruins, 2015-present, .665).
The Capitals qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs nine times in MacLellan’s 10 seasons as GM, won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 2018, the Presidents’ Trophy in 2016 and 2017, and a franchise-record five consecutive division titles from 2015-16 to 2019-20.
MacLellan, who won the Stanley Cup as a player with the Calgary Flames in 1989, had 413 points (172 goals, 241 assists) in 606 games during 10 NHL seasons as a forward with Calgary, the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars and Detroit Red Wings.
