Capitals promote Chris Patrick to GM, Brian MacLellan remains President of Hockey Operations

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals named Chris Patrick their general manager on Monday, but longtime GM Brian MacLellan will remain president of hockey operations.

Patrick, 48, who was also named senior vice president, has worked for the Capitals in various roles since 2009 and has served as assistant GM under MacLellan for the past three years. The son of longtime team president Dick Patrick, he previously served as director of player personnel after a long stint as a pro scout and is now only the seventh GM in the organization’s 50-year history.

“Chris is a dedicated and hard-working manager who is well prepared for this next step in his career,” owner Ted Leonsis said in a statement. “His vision, extensive experience, hockey sense and player evaluation make him the perfect leader to move our team forward.”

MacLellan, 65, has been GM for a decade since succeeding George McPhee in 2014. He completed the construction 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 that will continue to advance our hockey department,” said Leonsis. “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.”

The front office shakeup is the latest in the NHL to see an established GM move up and hand over day-to-day operations. That happened in Colorado in 2022 after the Avalanche won the Cup. Chris MacFarland succeeded Joe Sakic as GM and Sakic became president of hockey operations, while St. Louis has laid out a succession plan for Alexander Steen and Doug Armstrong to follow the same path.

In Washington, Patrick takes over the reins of a restructuring that MacLellan has been running at full speed for the past few weeks to keep the club’s window open in the final two years of captain Alex Ovechkin’s contract. MacLellan has replaced nearly a quarter of the roster and Center Pierre-Luc Dubois, winger Andrew Mangiapane, defenseman Jakob Chychrun and goalie Logan Thompson in separate trades and the signing of free agents Matt Roy, Brandon Duhaime and Taylor Raddysh.