A decade ago, when Brian MacLellan was the interim general manager of the Washington Capitals, Chris Patrick — then a pro scout in the organization — met with him over a drink to discuss the future.
A decade later, he was ready — 100 percent ready, Patrick said at his introductory news conference Tuesday. Patrick was named the seventh general manager in Capitals history a day earlier, taking over for MacLellan, who will remain as the president of hockey operations but hand over the day-to-day reins to Patrick.
Patrick, 48, enters the role after a season of working hand-in-hand with MacLellan as associate general manager, steadily taking on more responsibility around the Capitals and spending more time traveling with the team. Patrick’s previous role as assistant general manager meant he primarily spent his time with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League and managing the professional scouting staff, making him less present in Washington — but that started to change over the past year as MacLellan’s succession plan was put in motion.
MacLellan added president of hockey operations to his title last season, at the same time that Patrick was promoted to associate GM, laying the groundwork for the transition that was made official this week.
“He’s grown his skill set. I’ve been a big part of watching him grow and develop from being a scout to what he’s been doing recently, managing Hershey, managing our pro staff,” MacLellan said. “[He] has a great skill set, has really worked hard to develop it, has an all-around background in the game and has made sure that he’s accumulated the skills and the experience to get to the point where he is today. ... I’ve had a firsthand seat, developed a friendship, a working relationship. There’s a lot of trust there. He’s been a big part of what we’ve accomplished over the last 10 years.”
Patrick, the son of Capitals chairman Dick Patrick, spent years working in finance after college — and after getting his MBA at Virginia — before beginning his hockey career as a part-time scout. He steadily ascended the ranks over the past 16 seasons with the Capitals, going from scout to director of player personnel to assistant general manager, associate general manager and now general manager.
“I never had this as an end goal when I first got back into the game,” Patrick said. “I just wanted to be involved with the team. I wanted to do a good job. I wanted to try to help the Caps win a Stanley Cup.”
When the Capitals won it in 2018, Chris and Dick Patrick became the sixth and seventh members of the Patrick family to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup.
Patrick will report to MacLellan, who will maintain oversight over all hockey-related decisions, but the daily responsibilities of running the team will be Patrick’s. As the Capitals transformed their roster over the past several weeks, Patrick was working in lockstep with MacLellan and the rest of the front office, making the decisions that have prepared Washington for the future.
Patrick and MacLellan described the work as a collaborative process, and they plan for things to remain that way, even as MacLellan moves into more of a big-picture consulting role.
“We worked hard over the last month to prepare for it and execute it,” MacLellan said. “I think credit goes to our whole group.”
Added Patrick: “Anything we do, Mac and I spend a lot of time talking about it. Anything — sending a guy down, bringing a guy up — and that’s no different with this current process. That’s how I envision things going forward. I’ll be making the calls and doing some of the legwork, but it’s still the same process.”
MacLellan leaves his role as general manager with the third-highest winning percentage in NHL history among general managers with at least 500 games under their belt, and owner Ted Leonsis was clear that he expects Patrick to continue that success.
“Chris has a lot of work to do, but I’m not lowering the bar,” Leonsis said. “We expect in 25 years, at the next handoff, people will say they have similar kinds of success and results.”
