The Washington Capitals have been very busy the last few weeks, shaping their roster for the 2024-25 NHL season. They added Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, Jakob Chychrun, and Matt Roy, among other additions. With most of their on-ice moves in the rearview mirror, the organization announced they are changing things in the front office. Brian MacLellan, who has been general manager and president, will now become president of the club only. The general manager role now belongs to Chris Patrick, who was promoted.
According to the Capitals website, MacLellan will be Patrick’s boss, and Patrick will report to him on hockey matters. The site also states, “In his new role, Patrick will represent the Capitals at the NHL’s General Managers’ meetings and be the primary point of contact for other NHL GMs. He will report to MacLellan, who will remain responsible for all aspects of hockey operations.”
Patrick’s History With the Capitals
Being named GM must be special for Patrick, who has spent 16 seasons with the franchise. He was drafted by the Capitals in 1994, and according to their website, “grew up playing hockey in the Washington, D.C. area in the Capital Beltway Hockey League and for the Little Caps…He and his father, Dick Patrick, became the sixth and seventh members of the Patrick family to win the Stanley Cup in 2018.”
ESPN noted in an article, “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.”
Per the Capitals website, “Patrick managed the club’s professional scouting staff and worked closely with the Hershey Bears, Washington’s AHL affiliate, who have won consecutive Calder Cup championships. During his tenure, the Bears have won two Calder Cups, two Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophies as the AHL’s top regular-season team and have reached three Calder Cup Finals.”
Not only did Patrick play a crucial role in finding talented players, but he has an eye for finding talent among the coaching ranks, as well: “Patrick hired two head coaches, Spencer Carbery and Todd Nelson, who have won AHL Coach of the Year awards with Hershey.”
Patrick gained a lot of experience and knowledge working in the Capitals’ front office. He earned this promotion, and will now be tasked with leading the organization into its next era.
MacLellan Leaves Successful Stint as GM
MacLellan has earned praise from Capitals fans for the various moves he’s made this offseason to try and bounce back after being swept by the New York Rangers in the playoffs. He took over the role after George McPhee helped put some significant pieces in place, but MacLellan added the right players to support the stars of the franchise in Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. As a result, Washington won their first Stanley Cup championship in 2018. The organization has had great GMs over the years, like McPhee and David Poile before him, but none of them hoisted the Cup.
An NHL GM being promoted out of the role is pretty common. According to Sportsnet, “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.”
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While MacLellan may not be running the show as GM anymore, Washington is not done trying to win another Cup in the Ovechkin era. That is evident after adding Dubois, Mangiapane, and Roy. The roster is likely set for the 2024-25 campaign, but where things go from there will be up to Patrick.
