ARLINGTON, Va. — The Washington Capitals named Chris Patrick as their general manager on Monday with longtime GM Brian MacLellan remaining president of hockey operations.
Patrick, 48, who was also named as a senior vice president, has worked for the Capitals in various capacities since 2009 and served as assistant GM under MacLellan the past three years. The son of longtime team president Dick Patrick previously was director of player personnel after a lengthy stint as a pro scout.
“Chris is a dedicated and hard-working executive, who is fully prepared for this 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 drive our team forward.”
MacLellan, 65, spent a decade as GM since taking over for George McPhee in 2014. He finished the building of the team that won the franchise’s first Stanley Cup title in 2018.
“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. “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.”
The front office shakeup is the latest around the NHL with an established GM shifting upstairs and ceding day-to-day operations. It happened in 2022 with Colorado after the Avalanche won the Cup, with Chris MacFarland succeeding Joe Sakic as GM and Sakic becoming president of hockey operations, while St. Louis has laid out a succession plan for Alexander Steen and Doug Armstrong to follow the same path.