Patrick appointed General Manager of the Capitals, MacLellan remains President of Hockey Operations

Chris Patrick was named Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Washington Capitals on Monday.

Brian MacLellan, who has been GM of the Capitals for the past 10 seasons, will remain president of hockey operations, a title he assumed 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 his first as Associate GM.

“We are very pleased to announce Chris’ promotion to General Manager,” said Capitals owner Ted Leonsis. “Chris is a dedicated and hard-working executive who is well prepared for this next step in his career. His vision, extensive experience, hockey sense and player evaluation make him the perfect leader to move our team forward. We are confident he will be successful 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 planning matters.

In addition, Patrick led the Capitals’ professional scouting staff and worked closely with the Hershey Bears, Washington’s affiliate team in the American Hockey League that has won the Calder Cup the past two seasons.

During his time at Hershey, Patrick played a critical role in developing numerous Capitals talents to the NHL level. He also hired two coaches, Spencer Carbery and Todd Nelson, who won AHL Coach of the Year honors with Hershey; Carbery was named Capitals coach on May 30, 2023. In his previous positions, 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 manager Lester Patrick.

Born in Leesburg, Virginia, Chris Patrick played hockey as a child 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 that will continue to move our hockey operations forward,” said Leonsis. “Over the past decade, Brian has done an outstanding job leading our hockey operations, helping to 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 steward of our minor league partnerships, positions our hockey team for a successful future.”

This is MacLellan’s 24th season with the Capitals, where he has served as GM, assistant GM, director of player personnel, and professional scout, among other roles. He was named GM on May 26, 2014, replacing George McPhee.

Washington went 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 Boston Bruins (466). MacLellan’s points percentage of .631 is the third-highest in NHL history among GMs with at least 500 games of experience, behind 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 ten 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, scored 413 points (172 goals, 241 assists) in 606 games in 10 NHL seasons as a forward with Calgary, the Los Angeles Kings, the New York Rangers, the Minnesota North Stars and the Detroit Red Wings.