The Capitals have a new GM, thanks to a pair of promotions: former GM Brian MacLellan has ceded that title to focus on being president of hockey operations, and Chris Patrick has been promoted to senior vice president and general manager, becoming the seventh GM in team history.
MacLellan had added president to his title of Caps GM last year, but now, the 65-year-old is relinquishing the latter duties to Patrick, who will report to him.
Patrick is entering his 17th season with the Caps, a tenure that started in the player development department, and he had been a pro scout, director of player personnel, and assistant GM before being named an associate GM last year – a position where he ‘oversaw Washington's analytics department, player contract negotiations, hockey operations staff, player personnel, and budget and team scheduling matters’ according to NHL.com.
"We are thrilled to announce Chris' promotion to general manager," Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said in a team statement. "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 has also worked closely with the Caps’ AHL affiliate, the two-time defending Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears, so he moves into the role with an innate understanding of what’s down on the farm as the Capitals navigate their future.
And, even better, he is the son of Capitals chairman Dick Patrick and great-grandson of Hockey Hall of Famer Lester Patrick – for whom the former Patrick Division was named – and he’s a local guy, born in Leesburg and selected by the Capitals in the 1994 Draft, although he 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."
Patrick has big shoes to fill in those of his predecessor, who was named GM in May 2014 and helped Washington to a 449-244-88 record – third-most wins in the NHL in that time – and was the architect of nine playoff teams, five division champions, and, of course, the 2018 Stanley Cup Champs.