Arlington, Virginia — The Washington Capitals named Chris Patrick general manager on Monday, but longtime general manager Brian MacLellan will remain as president of hockey operations.
Patrick, 48, who was also named executive vice president, had served in various roles with the Capitals since 2009, including the past three years as assistant general manager under McClellan. The son of longtime team president Dick Patrick, he previously served as director of player personnel after a long career as a professional scout and is now the seventh general manager in the franchise's 50-year history.
“Chris is a dedicated and hard-working executive who is completely ready for the next step in his career,” owner Ted Leonsis said in a statement. “His vision, extensive experience, hockey acumen and player evaluation make him the perfect leader to lead our team moving forward.”
McClellan, 65, served as general manager for 10 years after succeeding George McPhee in 2014. He was instrumental in building the team that won the franchise's first Stanley Cup in 2018.
The front-office shakeup is the latest across the NHL to see an established GM move up the ranks and hand over day-to-day operations. This comes after the Avalanche won a Cup with Colorado in 2022, with Chris McFarland replacing Joe Sakic as GM and Sakic becoming president of hockey operations. Meanwhile, St. Louis has laid out a succession plan that sees Alexander Steen and Doug Armstrong follow a similar path.
In Washington, Patrick will oversee an improvised restructuring that McClellan has been working on full force over the past few weeks to keep the team in contention for a championship with the two years remaining on captain Alex Ovechkin's contract. McClellan has replaced nearly a quarter of the roster, acquiring center Pierre-Luc Dubois, winger Andrew Mangiapane, defenseman Jakob Chychrun and goaltender Logan Thompson in separate trades and signing free agents Matt Roy, Brandon Duhaime and Taylor Raddysh.
“I think we're better,” McClellan said last week, though he made no mention of promotion at the time. “I just think we're a better-positioned team. We should be better offensively. We'll see. Overall, I think we have more depth and we're a better-organized team than we were last year.”
The Capitals narrowly made the playoffs as the Eastern Conference's second and final wild card, winning a tiebreaker against the Detroit Red Wings. They were soundly defeated in the first round by the New York Rangers, who went on to win the Presidents Trophy, and the Rangers lost to eventual Cup winners Florida in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The team has reached the postseason in 15 of the past 17 seasons, known as the Ovechkin era. The Russian superstar and face of the franchise since being drafted No. 1 in 2004 is 42 points away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's career goals record and turns 39 in September.
Howard leads Jr. Red Wings to Brick title
Former Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard led the Detroit Jr. Red Wings to victory in the prestigious Brick Invitational hockey tournament at West Edmonton Mall on Sunday.
Howard was behind the bench for a Michigan team made up of 9- and 10-year-old players, including his son, Henry.
The Jr. Red Wings defeated the Toronto Bulldogs 4-3 in the finals thanks to a goal by Christian Kolarik with three minutes left in the third period.
More than 200 NHL players have participated in the tournament since 1990, including Auston Matthews, Steven Stamkos and P.K. Saban.
New Bruin Zadorov aims for Cup
To think that the impact of Nikita Zadorov signing with the Bruins is comparable to that of Zdeno Chara's signing 18 years ago would be unfair to both Zadorov and what Chara accomplished with the Bruins.
Chara's contract is perhaps the best free-agent signing in hockey history, and to Zadorov's credit, the B's newest blue-line beast has eliminated any comparisons to future Hall of Famers. “Don't call me Big Z,” Zadorov famously said.
But make no mistake: The Bruins hope and believe the 6-foot-6, 250-pound player can help turn around their fortunes come playoff time, and Zadorov wants to reach the same heights as Chara, who helped end a 39-year Stanley Cup drought.
“That's the main reason I signed here, because I want to have the best chance to win a championship,” Zadorov said Monday. “I take my job very seriously and I put my heart and soul into everything I do. And I plan on spending six years here and I want to put my heart and soul into winning a Stanley Cup here as a member of the Bruins.”
Zadorov, who is spending the offseason in Florida, met with Boston reporters for the first time on Monday at Warrior Ice Arena. The defenseman, who signed a six-year contract with an average annual salary of $5 million, arrived in Boston on Saturday night with his wife, Alexandra, and their two young daughters, Sophie and Stephanie, and spent the day house hunting, touring local schools and experiencing the culture, including the North End.
“I had really good pasta. Hopefully I won't have to go there again. It's very heavy but very tasty,” the Moscow native said with a laugh.
He also showed off his new Bruins sweater and explained the meaning behind his choice of No. 91, the number last worn by Marc Savard.
“Upside-down No. 16? Yeah, I've worn No. 16 my whole life,” Zadorov said. “The worst thing about playing for an Original Six team is that a lot of the numbers are retired and there's a lot of history.”
He also reminisced about his first NHL goal, which came 11 years ago when he was with the Buffalo Sabres and came against the Bruins.
“(Brad Marchand) Murchie got a negative point because he was on the ice. I'll let him know,” a smiling Zadorov said.
It was the little bit of edge, the swagger that Zadorov brings that drew the Bruins, as well as the teeth-chattering hits he's become known for. Given his size, physicality is one of the most important tools in his arsenal, but he's had to learn over the years when to use it.
“When I was younger, I would take hits when I didn't need to, and sometimes it's better to use your stick to block passes, so this is definitely a learning for me,” Zadorov said. “Playing physical is important. It frustrates the other team, it gets you going, it's important in close games. I'm big, and when I'm in good form, playing sharp and physical, I play better.”
The 29-year-old Zadorov, the 16th overall pick by the Sabres in 2013, said he is still working on taming some of the inconsistency in his play.
“I think consistency is the biggest thing for a defenseman. I think it's taken me a while to figure out some things on the ice. I don't want to be a high-risk player and I want to be more consistent and prepared,” Zadorov said. “Especially with my size, when I'm not playing well, it's noticeable on the ice and when I'm playing well, it's noticeable too, so I'm just trying to find that sweet spot in between. A few years ago, Joe Sakic was my GM (at Colorado), and he told me that (Nicklas) Lidstrom always said, 'If you can play eight A games and two B games out of 10 games, you'll be a really good defenseman in this league.'”
Zadorov appeared to put it all together after being traded from Calgary to Vancouver for the playoffs against the Canucks, flashing his physical prowess and recording four goals and four assists in 13 postseason games.
“Coaching helps. Of course, I like to learn new things, I like to listen to new people and I like to adapt,” Zadorov said. “I adapted well and quickly in Vancouver. The playoffs are fun. I try to raise my level of play during playoff time. It's really fun. I like the pressure and I like the big stakes. The playoffs in Canada were different. It was a lot of fun, it was satisfying and it was really emotional for me. That's when coaching helps.”
Utah re-signs forward Hayton
The Utah Hockey Club re-signed forward Barrett Hayton to a two-year, $5.3 million contract on Monday.
The contract includes a salary cap hit of $2.65 million through the 2025-26 season. Hayton was a restricted free agent.
“Barrett is a reliable two-way center who excels in the faceoff circle and is an excellent complement to our highly skilled forwards at center,” Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said in a statement. “We look forward to having him return to our team.”
Hayton, 24, was the fifth overall pick in the 2018 draft by the team formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes. Since making his NHL debut in 2019, he has recorded 84 points in 2019 games.
Last season, injuries limited him to just 33 appearances, but he still managed three goals and seven assists.
Utah's first regular-season NHL game is scheduled for Oct. 8, when the team will face Chicago. Ryan Smith's Smith Entertainment Group bought the team from previous owner Alex Meleuro this spring and relocated it to Salt Lake City.
Hurricanes appoint Doug as new president
The Carolina Hurricanes have hired a familiar face as their new team president.
The team announced Monday that Doug Wirff will become president of Hurricanes Holdings LLC and oversee the Hurricanes' business operations and the operation of PNC Arena.
From 2007 to 2017, Warf served as executive director of the Hurricanes Foundation (formerly known as the Kids and Community Foundation). Under his leadership, the Foundation set company records for fundraising and distribution, donating more than $5 million to over 100 nonprofit organizations in North Carolina.
Wirf succeeds Don Waddell, who served as the Hurricanes' president and general manager before moving to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Mr. Wharf most recently served as President of MDO Holdings, a Raleigh-based investment and management firm, where he oversaw business operations for nine portfolio companies across a variety of industries and provided business operations and marketing advice to several of the key companies within MDO Holdings' investment portfolio.
