Brian MacLellan will continue to be a part of the Capitals' decision-making process.
Brian MacLellan will continue to be a part of the Capitals' decision-making process.
WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals are ringing in a new era.
At District E right outside of Capital One Arena on Tuesday, Washington officially introduced Chris Patrick as the team's new general manager and senior vice president.
Next to him, and happy to usher him into this new role, was Brian MacLellan, who will remain on board as the president of hockey operations.
"He's grown his skill set. I've been a big part of watching him grow and develop," MacLellan said of Patrick.
Chairman Dick Patrick, who is Chris' father, and owner Ted Leonsis were also present, with Leonsis explaining that the move makes it easier for the front office to operate collaboratively.
"We really have a lineage of excellence, and we intend to keep that going," Leonsis explained. "Sports teams and NHL teams are becoming more and more complex to manage... (MacLellan) runs and has final say on all hockey operations, and then we have Chris do every job in the company and be able to be the general manager and deal with all the other general managers. I feel that the team is in great hands."
Patrick, who becomes the seventh general manager in franchise history, will oversee more of the day-to-day operations of the team and work with the players, coaches and staff. MacLellan will oversee other aspects of hockey operations.
"I never had this as an end goal when I first got back into the game. I just wanted to be involved with a team... I've definitely gotten to a point where I feel 100 percent ready to jump into it and get going," Patrick said of taking over.
It will still be a collaborative process going forward, with Patrick and MacLellan working closely together when it comes to the team's direction and next steps.
"I'll take a step back, Chris is going to be more day-to-day with the team and coaches, pretty much everything. The training staff, strength and conditioning... I'll be consulting with Chris, more in the office watching games. And then we'll still still work together to make good decisions," MacLellan said.
Washington has already been busy this summer, acquiring Jakob Chychrun, Andrew Mangiapane and Logan Thompson in trades while signing Matt Roy, Brandon Duhaime and Taylor Raddysh.
The plan is for Patrick to continue to build off of those moves.
"We've made a statement already with what we've done in this offseason," Patrick said, adding, "If you look at the Conference Finals this year, you see some teams that were able to transition from an older core to a younger team that's competitive. I think that's definitely on the table for us."
Most importantly though for D.C., Patrick wants D.C. to remain a contender as it transitions, and he's ready for the challenge.
"My intention is to be competitive," Patrick said. "I'm not a guy that likes losing, and I truly believe that we can transition, for lack of a better term, past the Ovechkin era with a competitive team."