Chris Patrick was named executive 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 remain as president of hockey operations, a position he holds until 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 franchise and his first as assistant general manager.
“We are excited to announce Chris' promotion to general manager,” Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said. “Chris is a dedicated and hard-working executive who is well prepared for the next step in his career. His vision, extensive experience, hockey acumen and player evaluation skills make him the perfect leader to lead our team moving forward, and we are confident he will excel in this new role.”
Patrick joined the Capitals in 2008 in a player development and scouting role and has served as 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, budget and team scheduling matters.
Additionally, Patrick managed the Capitals' professional scouting staff and worked closely with Washington's American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, who won the Calder Cup the past two seasons.
While coaching Hershey, Patrick played a key role in developing many of the Capitals' top prospects to the NHL level. He also hired two coaches with Hershey, Spencer Carberry and Todd Nelson, who both won AHL Coach of the Year awards. Carberry was named head coach of the Capitals on May 30, 2023. In his previous role, Patrick was responsible for scouting drafted players at the college and junior 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 Capital Beltway Hockey League and the Little Caps in the Washington area. He played two seasons as a forward at Princeton University and was selected by the Capitals in the eighth round (197th pick) of the 1994 NHL Draft, but never played professionally.
“I am confident that our dynamic leadership team with Dick Patrick as chairman, Brian as president and Chris as general manager will continue to lead our hockey operations department forward,” Leonsis said. “Over the past decade, Brian has served with distinction as head of hockey operations, helping to bring a Stanley Cup to Washington and maintaining the 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, will position our hockey operations team for success in the future.”
This marks McLellan's 24th season with the Capitals, during which he has worked as general manager, assistant general manager, director of player personnel and professional scout. He was named general manager on May 26, 2014, succeeding George McPhee.
During McClellan's tenure as GM, Washington recorded 449 wins, 244 losses and 88 ties, good for the third-most winning teams in the NHL during that span behind the Tampa Bay Lightning (475 wins) and Boston Bruins (466 wins). McClellan's .631 goals-against percentage is the third-highest in NHL history among general managers with at least 500 games experience, behind only Sam Pollock (Montreal Canadiens, 1964-78, .685) and Don Sweeney (Boston Bruins, 2015-present, .665).
The Capitals appeared in the Stanley Cup Playoffs nine times in McClellan's 10 seasons as general manager, won their first Stanley Cup in 2018, won the Presidents Trophy in 2016 and 2017 and won a franchise-record five consecutive division titles from 2015-16 through 2019-20.
MacLellan, who won a Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames in 1989, played in 606 games over 10 NHL seasons as a forward with Calgary, the Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars and Detroit Red Wings, scoring 413 points (172 goals, 241 assists).
