Breaking down the Chris Patrick general manager promotion news

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman broke Twitter/X today when he annouced the Washington Capitals promotion of Chris Patrick to General Manager while Brian MacLellan will remain team president.

MacLellan will continue to oversee hockey operations as team president. Team owner and chairman of Monumental Sports and Entertainment Ted Leonsis said in a statement:

"We are thrilled to announce Chris' promotion to general manager. Chris is a dedicated and hard-working executive, who is fully prepared for this next step in his career. His vision, extensive experience, hockey acumen, and player evaluation make him the perfect leader to drive our team forward. We are confident that he will thrive in this new role."

The Chris Patrick era now

Patrick is now the seventh general manager in franchise history as the team embarks on their 50th season. He had just finished his 16th season with the club and first as associate general manager. He joined the Caps in 2008-09 in a player development and scouting role. As associate GM, he oversaw the team's analytics department, player contract negotiations, hockey operations staff, player personel as well as budget and team scheduling matters.

Patrick is a graduate out of Princeton University with a Bachelor of Science in politics and economics in 1998 and earned a master of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia in 2006. He grew up playing hockey in the Washington, D.C. area in the Capital Beltway Hockey League and for the Little Caps.

"With Dick Patrick as chairman, Brian as president and Chris as general manager, we believe we have a dynamic leadership team in place to continue to guide our hockey operations department forward. Over the past decade, Brian has excelled as the head of our operations department, helping bring the Stanley Cup to Washington and maintaining the team's consistent competitiveness."

Leonsis concluded the statment by saying: "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 guardian of our minor league partnerships, position our hockey operations team for a successful future."

Hats off to MacLellan for building solid Capitals teams over the years. Bringing home a Stanley Cup is the hardest thing to do in sports. There's no doubt that Chris Patrick has what it takes to lead the next generation of the Capitals while the team remains in the hunt to be competitive around their current stars.