Washington Capitals Introductory Press Conference with General Manager Chris Patrick

Washington Capitals Introductory Press Conference with General Manager Chris Patrick

[Music] good afternoon everyone and thank you for joining us here on Monumental Sports Network for a very important and historic day for the Washington Capitals franchise Bren alongside Alan May and Craig Lan as the capitals are making a very important move in the hockey operations Department Brian mclen now becomes the the senior president of hockey operations and Senior vice president now and general manager will be his former associate general manager Chris Patrick so a very smooth transition but a very important one for the future well it’s incredibly huge what it’s done and when you think of back when Mac became the general manager he wasn’t left with the same type of team and these two guys have worked in concert for quite a while right now and they’ve done some great things in the last month just alone but it seems like it’s the right time for all of this to happen and I think it’s going to solidify this franchise for many years to come they are always going to be competitive they are always going to want to win and get another Stanley Cup you’ve got excellent Executives and excellent hockey guys leading the future for this capitals franchise well let’s get our program started and for that we head over to our Joe benad gentlemen thank you very much good afternoon everyone we appreciate you sitting in with us today and watching on Monumental Sports Network I’m glad we could help you beat the heat for a little while we’ve all heard the expression the more things change uh the more they stay the same today marks a very significant and exciting moment for the Washington Capitals hockey operations Department as it announces an internal promotion while still upholding its core principles values and leadership team with Brian mclelan taking the lead as general m manager the past 10 seasons those core fundamentals led to tremendous success in that time the Caps posted the third most wins of any team in the NHL there were six 100 plus Point seasons and likely two more in Seasons that were abbreviated win percentage as a GM ranks among the best the sport has ever seen his tenure brought the Stanley Cup to Washington two president’s trophies of Fran record five straight division titles and unrivaled success throughout developmental level affiliations in the American Hockey League and the ECHL this afternoon Brian mcclelen Remains the capitals president of hockey operations overseeing all facets of hockey operations while handing the role of senior vice president and general manager to Chris Patrick I’ve known Chris since my late 20s I have vivid or maybe that’s hazy memories of watching him play for the Little caps alongside former capitals Captain Jeff Halper being drafted by the capitals and then excelling at Princeton University his path to this stage is very similar to melen a former hockey player who earned his master’s degree worked in the financial world and then came back to the game he loves Chris has been with the caps for 16 years he’s seen the operation from all sides as a scout in Player Development as director of player Personnel in connection with AHL Hershey and throughout his most recent role as assistant and associate general manager of the NHL’s Capitals in his tenure the Hershey Bears were twice the top regular season team in the AHL they’ve won two consecutive AHL called their cups they’ve played a pivotal role in developing numerous capitals prospects to the NHL level Chris helped to hire two head coaches Spencer carbury and Todd Nelson both of whom have won AHL Coach of the Year Awards as the capitals approach their 50th Anniversary season in the NHL Chris becomes just the sth GM in franchise history this is another incredibly proud day in the hockey history of the Patrick family capitals chairman dick Patrick on stage with his son back in 2018 dick and Chris Patrick became the sixth and seventh members of the Patrick family to win the Stanley Cup let that sink in for a moment now Chris finds himself ready and deserving to assume his most significant role yet here to discuss the promotion it’s my pleasure to turn the microphone over to Monumental sports and entertainment chairman and CEO Ted leanis thank you Joe and congratulations Chris and thank you Ma for everything you’ve done for the franchise and uh thank you dick Patrick dick um 25 years ago um dick and I were signed a asset acquisition statement on this day 25 years ago this was just given to me to close on buying the Washington Capitals and it’s been quite the um the ride and um I’m very very grateful always to Dick for his leader ship and dick’s not only our chairman dick is my partner and is owner of the team and uh dick has done unbelievable job in building management and our franchise really is one of the worldclass operations um in the entire NHL um you heard what Mack has done um our previous um general manager won a Stanley Cup U George MC with with Las Vegas the previous general manager uh just got inducted into the Hall of Fame so we really have a lineage of excellence and uh we intend to keep that going and the real reason for this move right now is that um sports teams and the NHL teams are becoming complex to manage and to have um um experience management Contin with dick Patrick as chairman also an owner um having um Matt now be president and he runs and has final say on all hockey operations and then they have Chris um do every job in the company and be able to move up now to be the general manager and deal with all the other general managers I feel that the team is in great hands for the next 25 years and um you know we’ve had a great run for 25 years um we had a huge rebuild um and even with that with that rebuild I saw a stat the other day that for those 25 years we’re tied for the most playoff appearances of any team in the league and we have the third best record most wins most points um so it’s a these are big shoes to fill we we don’t want to take steps back we want to keep going our go goal is over the next 25 years to win more Stanley Cups and I think we have the right team to do it so most appreciative of what we’ve um accomplished and I think we’re in really really good hands with Ma and with with um Chris Joe Ted thanks very much uh ladies and gentlemen here in attendance members of the media you know the drill guys and gals we have a microphone for you questions for all four men uh at the de here your name your media affiliation and the way you go dark elisher Sports Network U this is for Ted and also for Mac when did you know Chris was ready to ascend to this role um that’s all Mac shouldn’t be a question for me all right no I I think TK he’s he’s grown in skill set you know I’ve been a big part of watching him grow develop from uh being a scout to what he’s been doing recently as managing Hershey managing our Pro Staff um has a great skill set um has really worked hard to develop it game um and has made sure that he’s you know accumulated the skills the experience to get to the point where he is today and for me it’s been I have a firsthand seat of you know develop a friendship a working relationship so there’s a lot of trust there and he’s been a big part of what we’ve accomplished over the last 10 years and the 10 plus years too and if I can follow up how do you see your role evolving now um you know I think a step back Chris is going to be more day-to-day with the team with the coaches with you know pretty much everything the training staff uh strength and conditioning he’ll be working with you know Hands-On every day and it I won’t be able to do that anymore I’ll be you know Consulting with Chris um you know more in the office watching games um and then we’ll still work together to make good decisions uh Steve wo associate press Chris at what point did you I know you’ve been on this trajectory from Scout to director of Player Development all that at what point did you think this is a reality and and what about the last few years making you feel like you’re prepared for the job right now uh I mean I I never really thought like I never had this as an end goal when I first got back into the game um you know I just 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 the Stanley Cup um I don’t know if Mack will remember this but I remember coming down here um when he was interim GM and went out for a drink and uh we were talking talking about what’s going to happen next and I was talking to Mac about you know his ability and and want to do the job and and he said to me you know do you ever think about doing something like this and I said I said yeah I’m not ready now and but maybe someday and I feel like over the 10 years that Max’s been involved I’ve definitely gotten to the point where i% ready um to jump into it and and get going so I guess it’s kind of evolved over time Tom Gan hl.com Chris um you’re taking over as GM here at a time where the team is kind of transitioning we know Alex only has a couple years left in his contract what obviously you won’t be doing this alone but what’s your vision for I guess this transition from the oetkin era to what comes next and how how that works the team will dictate a lot of it but I mean I think I think we’ve made a statement already with what we’ve done in this offseason um you know it’s easy for people to say your Superstars are aging it’s time to rebuild blow it up do it all over again um I think in actuality that can be a lot harder than it than it sounds and I think you’ve seen a lot of teams try it and kind of get stuck in an endless cycle of tearing down and building up and tearing down and building up and never getting to where they want to be and I think you can also look at uh some teams that have not done that and had success I think if you look at the Conference Finals this year you’ll see some teams that were able to transition from an an older core to a to a younger team that’s competitive so I think that is definitely on the table for us um again the moves we made this offseason um some of the young players that we had just finished you know their first full Pro year with Washington uh another group of young players that just won a cder cup some of them for a second time in Hershey and then two what I think are really good drafts for us I think we positioned ourselves to be able to Pivot either way if we want but my intention is to be competitive um I’m not a guy that likes losing and I I truly believe that we can transition uh you know for lack of better term past the oan ERA with a competitive team bayy Johnson from The Washington Post Chris how do you feel like your experience with Hershey and your Player Development background helps you set up for that transition to a younger future here um well first of all Hershey’s been an unbelievable partner for us and I think it only got stronger in the last 10 years um you know it it’s an environment where players play in in what’s close to an NHL environment as far as facilities fan base um passionate fans fans are going to stop you in the grocery store and ask you about the power play um so I think to have that experience for for our young players you know obviously preps them for the NHL um personally my experience I mean I think it’s I’ve since I’ve became involved with Hershey you know I’ve had to hire people I’ve had to fire people we’ve had to you know turn over rosters every year it’s giving you a lot of skills that are hard to develop without actually doing them to to be able to do it one day for an NHL Club this question is for Ted uh it’s tar elbashir again um I know Mac isn’t going anywhere but how do you look at the last 10 years how do you um look at his legacy I guess I’m very grateful um Mac as you know was uh in the organization and Dick and I um had to find a new general manager new coach um be sincere he was not the front runner uh we went outside and interviewed several candidates and Mack was um so familiar with the team and spoke very directly to both of us but to me mostly on here’s what you need to do um and you know it was with such conviction and backed by data that we agreed to and you won a couple president trophies and then we w a stand the cup and so you know I trust I trust this management team um uh intrinsically and you know we’re building I’m trying to build a big Enterprise other leagues other teams and a world class organization that has really high integrity I’ve never once thought um that anyone has made a move that was not in the best interest on the long-term health of the team um and they’ve all made really really good decisions and so I’m very very grateful to them and I’m I’m thrilled too to keep dick with Mack with Chris um that’s a real gel team that’s a lot of experience and I think both Mac and Chris represent Next Generation leaders um they’re not just former players they have NBAs they had careers in business and these are Big sophisticated businesses um the successful GMS they’re lawyers their mbas they they need to have skills to manage these big big organizations and you know Max said the other day that skills probably a little undervalued or not really understood but these are very complex businesses and navigating around the cap it’s really really important in being able to manage all of the resources so I’m really happy that both of them have business backgrounds and mbas and they math is their friend I mean the amount of work that they process through on the analytic side um and they it’s intrinsic to them it’s not kind of a trying to learn on the Fly they get it and so we want to build modernday organizations I said future prooof the organization well we have the youngest coach in the NHL and now we have a season but very young general manager as well so Chris where do you come down on the analytics versus eyeball test I actually love the way our our group approaches it um and I don’t know you know how it Compares a lot of other teams but like when we are looking at things we’re looking at a trade deadline or free agency we have analytics we have Pro Staff in the room and and we all talk the same language that the pro guys have learned uh the metrics and and the data that the analytics guys value and and can can speak their language and and the analytics side respects what the what the proide does and respects their ages I think 90% of the time we we come out at the same spot uh sometimes there discrepancies and that’s when you you you know you pull up the video you watch it and try to figure it out and and we do a lot of time doing that it’s a very methodical process um so that wasn’t an answer to your question but uh I think I think you have to you have to trust the eye and you have to trust the numbers and if they don’t agree then you roll up your sleeves and get to work Tomy with nhl.com again Mac how much was the last year since you also became president and became associate GM kind of aim towards this I guess maybe leading towards this and and how much will that help with the transition I guess him being involved as much as he has in the last year yeah I I think you know conscious effort this past season to have him more around the team than uh not around the team uh I mean his previous responsibilities take him away from players from coaches I mean it’s a big skill set to be able to manage a coaching staff to be able to interact with players the right way and um you know I think that was part of his inexperience going into the year and he’s doing it at the minor league level but at the NHL level I think he needed to accomplish some stuff there and he did that this year and this is for Chris and and Dick what does it mean to the two of you to with your family history for you to now take on this job and carry kind of that carry on that name even further I guess I’ll go first because I think he hates microphones more than I do but uh yeah I mean I um I mean going back to when I was a kid and you know going to my grandparents house and seeing the picture and uh you know hearing my Uncle Craig and my dad and my grandfather talk about the game I mean just it’s hard not to fall in love with it um you know I’ve tried to make make the name proud and do it the right way and and hopefully I am doing it the right way and can continue to to make the Patrick name proud well that that was a pretty good answer Chris I’m not sure if I can evaluated but you know grew up around hockey around NHL people um but that doesn’t make you qualified to do anything I mean Chris is where he is today because because he worked at it made a decision to leave the finance world to get into hockey a fraction of what he was making in business because he figured he had to find out whether he had that that urge strong enough to stay with him and he did so you know I’ve been proud of him throughout his life for how he set goals and Achieve them uh and this is this is no different I’m also very appreciative of Mac for having trained him and brought him along and and you know had the success we’ve had you know all along and Mac I didn’t know this till uh I think Sergey told me yesterday but Max moving to president now he leades with the third highest winning percentage of any general manager that’s played that’s uh been general manager for 500 games or more uh you know behind Samy poock who’s the leader and one other guy he’s going to eventually be I hope everyone that know dick strong silent type um just said that Max winning percentage is third all time in NHL history for a general manager 500 games or more which is you know hockey’s different than other sports I mean if any other team in any other league had that that would be you know scrolling outside the building and but it sets an expectation for us and um you know Chris has a lot of work to do we’re not lowering the bar I mean we expect to in 25 years um the next handoff you’re able to say you have similar kind of success and results so fans are are pretty excited about the moves you guys have made over the past three weeks acquiring seven new roster players who who gets the credit for uh for those moves I think it’s a group process like Chris mentioned earlier um you know we we worked hard over the last month to prepare for it and executed it and uh I think credit goes to our whole group Pro Staff Chris myself everybody that was in the room analytics guys I just add to that I mean anything we do um you know Mac and I spend a lot of time talking about it like anything sending a guy down bringing a guy up um and and that was no different with with this current process and that’s kind of how I Envision things going forward I mean I’ll be making the calls and and doing some of the leg work but it’s still the same process we’re going to be grinding it out on the phone or in person over every move we make how comforting is it for you to know that you know Mac is only a phone call away if you do have some questions about anything really comforting I mean I M Mac has an unbelievable feel for the game for a team for what a team needs What A team’s lacking systems um every time I think I’m starting to find they get there he elevates the bar so yeah it’s uh I couldn’t be walking into a better situation um Ethan cadoo Monumental Sports Network this is for mac and Chris when it comes to final roster decisions is that also going to be a collaborative process or ma is that still yours your call yeah I think we’ll work at it together um you know I think there’ be times where Chris is pushing for a certain change and you know we’ll agree and you know might be the other way what do you you know I’ll push for for something I I think we we have enough experience now where we can work together and we figure things out together and it it’s worked so far and I think it’ll continue to work going forward um just from a front office structure standpoint so you’re being elevated you’re being elevated who are the people who are going to kind of backfill some of the roles that uh you had been handling last year yeah so if you look at my job kind of broke down to the Hershey um managing the Hershey relationship and the team and then uh the pro side managing the Pro Staff so Brian stby is going to be head pro Scout and and he’ll manage the pro side it it’s probably moved this long overdue um and then Jason fit Simmons is who’s will still Scout which he’s done forever for us but he’s also going to be managing the Hershey relationship for us he’s actually down in Hilton Head right now at the AHL meetings so he’s he’s Full Speed Ahead if I could follow up um With You Chris uh be between um UVA and getting back into hockey you were in the business world I’ve never gotten the full story like what did you do so well so I was in the business world right after college for six years uh worked in Investment Banking worked for a a private Equity Venture Capital firm and then went went back and got my MBA and then got a job again in finance with an energy company basically doing like oil and gas gas investing was kind of like a private Equity setup in a how does that background in business apply to what you’re doing in in in hockey I I imagine a lot especially with a hard salary cap yeah I mean more it’s like you get a perspective for how an organization is run I mean I worked for three organizations of three varying sizes from a small kind of 20 person office to a huge you know by the time I left the Investment Bank was it was owned by Deutsche Bank so um you get under understanding of kind of organizational management um I worked for some really smart people that challenged you that expected a lot from you but treated you fairly and just wanted you to have have a a fact-based opinion and I feel like you could apply that to exactly how we we do things here like it’s it’s uh it’s good to have that perspective I think because I think it brings um you know better cohesiveness and decision-making to our group any more out there I get the last one unless T is T has handed the mic over so I’ll get the last one which will allow our our live show on Monumental Sports Network to catch up and be ready uh this is the last one for you Chris you’ve covered a lot of bases in your role as an associate GM now that you have um the leadership spot which aspect of this new role intrigues you the most yeah I think it’s it’s a little bit what Mac was saying you know I haven’t been around the team team this much ever in my career I’ve always been on the road at other games I’ve been around Hershey a lot more than the Caps um so getting to do it for a good part of this past season was a different perspective um it’s definitely a different it’s a different pace um than what I’m used to as far as being in and out of cities going to a game every night you know um a lot more focus on on the task at hand getting into a city and and getting your you know getting fed and getting rested and getting for the getting ready for the game and um and then Interac with the coaching staff and um so that that day-to-day you know being with the team I think is going to be be something different and you know something I’m really looking forward to Chris congratulations gentlemen thank you very much one-on ones I’m sure it’ll be uh connected through Sergey Chase and Alex we thank you all and turn it back over to Al coken I take away from this that I hope our viewers on Monumental sportset can kind of appreciate behind the curtain on how collaborative everything is we always talk about the general manager he makes the calls he makes the trades he does all of this but the entire staff as uh as both Brian and Chris kept pointing out you know it’s a collective operation and I think people don’t really realize how many hands are in these big decisions well it’s so different from when I actually played in the National Hockey League how few people there were in the front office when you look at the hierarchy here there’s so many different people and so many people that all work together and they’re all in unison as a far cry from how it used to be so it’s so much more collaborative it’s so much more important to have a a big staff like that that works well together and as we see the you know leadership structure here uh with the new position being created by the the president of hockey operations Bri Clin will now be very similar to what happened in Vegas with the former general manager here George MC did a great job moves up to hockey operations Kelly McMan Moves In and there was a Stanley Cup that followed that so it’s a very successful path also interesting I I think you and I could both be characterized it’s not really the biggest analytics guys but it’s a role and it’s a very important role and one of the things that Chris Patrick did in his early days with the Washington Capitals headed up the analytics Department got things started it is interesting to again hear a guy who was a longtime Pro Scout in Chris patri the exact same way Brian mclen was a longtime Pro Scout have to balance out between what you see with your eyes and your gut and what the numbers are also telling you which has become a more important role in hockey these days no it’s very important to have that and have the eye test at the same same time and to have someone that really understands that don’t forget he comes from a hockey family he’s a fourth generation Patrick he’s been in the arena the very first game I was ever at he was in attendance and is for the Washington Capital so he’s been around this he wasn’t always in management he was a youth hockey player he was a Collegiate player went in the real world for and then he got back into the greatest place in the world the hockey world and you know he’s worked his way up nothing’s been handed to him he’s had to pound the pavement he’s a lot of flights bus rides you name it and he has been a great apprentice and when you look at what they’ve been able to do and develop in Hershey and really South Carolina the development model has been excellent and he’s been such a huge part of that so this is a natural transition and I’m very excited for it and it was 10 years of Brian mclen making you know the decisions around here and really adding to the front office and I think this is just the perfect time to do it as this team is in I feel like it’s been totally rebuilt in just the last month not rebuilt but restocked or whatever you want to call it but he’s done an incredible job he’s been there for every part of it so it it is very interesting to see uh how this team is going to do in the next few years yeah I I love the idea that what the one of the things that Chris talked about that he said really helped him prepare for this new role is what he did with Hershey how he had to fire people rebuild rosters backto back championships you know it’s one thing to say oh yeah we’ve got some Capital draft choices build him up he has to go out and find the pier Dubay and bring in some free agents like The Ether Frank you know the entire organization was part of that but he had to rebuild a roster a couple different times and it turned out to be very very successful well seriously under both Mack and Chris uh when they took over making the decisions on Hershey I haven’t been able to complain about it because they’ve put in a true developmental model at the same time caring about and getting these young players to to realize you’re here to win you’re also here to develop you have to show growth and they’ve done that there that team used to be stocked just to win games and there was no true development and I really like the model that they’ve created it when I was uh you know throughout the playoffs this year talking to different people what they’ve been able to create in Hershey is a huge Testament to the management of the Washington Capitals now great and now we get to to welcome in Ted leanas to our Monumental broadcast as you see the Chris Patrick and the role he played with Princeton which is very successful team yeah uh Ted one of the things that has interested me when I spoke with you yesterday you also mentioned it today you brought up the business background of both Brian mlen and Chris Patrick why has that kind of caught your eye why is that kind of important in these decisions for you well 2005 lockout we all sat together led by dick Pat and said uh it’s going to be new NHL what do we have to do to prepare for it we made three big moves we said we’re going to rebuild the team through the draft we got lucky we got the first pick and picked Alex we said we’re going to move our AHL affiliation from Portland Maine to Hershey and we want to use that as a strategic Advantage um have the coach the GM the players uh live Playbook sleep eat just like they would here so when we bring a player up they hit the ground running and we would build this new worldclass practice facility and so that was the plan we implemented and um I think that the people who were with the company and the team at that point got it you know built the culture and so we have the best relationship with uh minor league franchise uh most of our players um in fact I was talking to hpie the other day and you know that was a seminal experience for them you talked to Bruce brro on air we tell you how important right he was our one a called the cup we bring him up as an interim coach he becomes coach of the year and so there’s this um this Vortex of success that we’ve created and you know the move with Chris right now will just continue that and that continuity I think is really important but their business experience dick Patrick State development is a lawyer George MC was a player and then he was a lawyer so these businesses have become uh big budgets sprawling their Global Enterprises you have to have skills much more than oh I played against this guy and I know what makes for a good Senator a good dman and they have have a good mix of that and so you know we we were the first team to hire a tapology if you will with Don Fishman he was a season ticket holder and he’s a an attorney and and so we make those Investments and I think the 25 years speak for themselves um but we’ve erased all that and now we’ve said to this new generation with Spencer and Chris you have big shoes to fill but we’re going to give you all of the resources you need to have a great successful run is being the people in charge when you talk about continuity you look all the way to South Carolina you look to Hershey and you look at all the people up here now and how important has it been to you to create that culture of Excellence throughout from top to bottom the way you look at that you you mentioned Chris the general manager of Hershey the last few years the assistant GM here but Spencer Scott Allen all the different people that have been involved in Jason Fitz Simmons the South Carolina guy so how important is that development and grow been to you well I think it’s such a specialized field and if you have a good good young person developing their careers knowing having them have confidence that we have the franchise’s best interest and at heart but that if they work hard they’ll be noticed and I think that’s what you’re seeing here and you know Mac is um 65 Mack is um Mac is a good Mentor right now uh he’s not going anywhere dick’s not going anywhere Chris is going to have to work hard these guys you know how hard it is traveling on the road you know how hard it is um going out and scouting you know how hard this business is it’s there’s a Rel season anymore right we’re in the off seon it’s been some of the busiest 30 days that I can remember and so the leaks changed so dramatically I mean we saw it at the sphere we’re having a a draft at the sphere and so Mac knows technology Chris knows technology you know how under lock and key we just bought cap friendly uh we really believe that having a business economic as well as a technical mindset uh is a differentiator besides being great hockey people D has been an exciting day exciting 30 days as you talked about as well thank you so much for joining us greatly appreciate it nice suit thank you I love yours as well let’s go over and join Jo B and Locker Al thanks very much chance for us to to comment on what we just heard from uh chairman and CEO Ted leonis and Locker every day we’re around him he carries such a a positive energy with him to the office to the rink but today in listening to the press conference listening to his thoughts I immediately was struck by how appreciative he is and was of the work that Brian mclen did as vice president and general manager yeah it was huge and I like some of his comments about the continuity having Brian mclen take over and leading the Caps to the promised land I I think when you look at the structure as he mentioned that they put in place in ‘ 05 it’s carried through to now and that’s why this franchise is one of the most successful and when you have a guy with the business side you know he mentioned business several times this is a big business business this is a global business as he said and I think the combination of business and sports that all these gentlemen carry are going to make for a long successful run here in Washington Brian mlen incredibly successful we’ve heard a couple of times today with the respect of a winning percentage of among general managers of 500 games or more uh Brian stands third best all time and Brian mclen is Happ be and pleaseed to join with us now here live on Monumental Sports Network the president of hockey operations you have become nice and accustomed already to this title uh how do you feel today relinquishing your uh GM duties yeah I mean it’s it’s uh you know kind of mixed emotions Joe I mean it’s it’s tough to let go you know it’s tough to move on but I I know we’re in good hands here and you know I get to still be a part of the process so it’s exciting to keep doing that you know I think we had a good offseason so that creates a little more excitement too looking forward to starting a year up next year and you’ve really worked hard in the summer man we’ve got some moves that you made all summer long to put this team back in the mix Mac I mean how hard was this to pull together here this summer yeah I I think you know I think every year you go in with a plan you got things you want to accomplish holes you want to fill changes you want to make and uh I mean not every year you get to execute that hits all of the buttons you know some of them you usually get some of them you miss out on I think this year we hit on everyone and which one on that list do you think is going to be the big the biggest hit yeah I mean I’m hoping yeah I hope to B you know I think uh and I think our defense is more well-rounded group now uh good balance of offense and defense size skating uh excited to see that and I think we got a good tanam and net I mean I like all of it you know I those additions have definitely created some excitement some excitement for the capitals fans this is not a going away party for relinquishing the GM duties but uh um well I’m going to miss them on the road wait a second we know that yeah what what part of the minute by- minute daytoday uh GM stuff will you be missing the most yeah I I I love going down the coaches room every day see what’s going on how they’re reacting I mean there’s there’s juice in there because when your day-to-day operations with the with the coaching staff and the team I mean the emotions go up and down and you got to manage them and and when when you’re visiting with these guys you get a good sense of where they’re at where the team’s at won’t be able to do that as much so I’ll miss that part of it you’ve seen you’ve seen Chris develop into a a top tier executive what are the qualities about him that lead you to believe that he’ll be a a strong NHL GM yeah I think he’s he’s put his time in his experience in he’s he’s a good evaluator he’s watched a lot of players he’s seen the progression of players so he has a good feel of you know this guy’s going to turn into this this guy’s going to turn into that he has a real good feel for the analytics part um you know we’ve built up our process analytic wise and he’s he’s a smart guy he’s a break guy and he gets along with people so I think the whole skill set is there for him to be successful now the hierarchy seems impressive to me you know starting with dick to you to Chris you go on and on down the list to me that’s going to be exciting for the fans too because I’m sure you’re all going to have a say in all hockey operations M stuff player stuff is that something also that could excite you too yeah I think it’s it’s good I mean like the opportunity to work with dick you know the opportunity to work with Chris as he’s grown you know for me you know and you know I grew up with George too I work with George growing up so I gain a lot of experience working with George so I think it’s an organizational development thing is pretty impressive what’s G on here uh throughout the press conference we heard AHL Hershey mentioned quite a bit backto back called their Cup champions they’re the Flagship of the American Hockey League I’m sure you let Chris know and Chris has been right there at the Forefront just how important it is to have a very good working relationship with them but spell it out for us what’s most critical about having that Top Flight developmental affiliate yeah I just think you want your good guys in good spots in winning programs I think that environment is excellent down there they they value winning it’s a competitive environment and when our guys go down when our young guys come in they’re on a good team they have a good role and and they get better as players we have a track record of these guys getting better as players and it seems exciting too with some of the youngsters you guys were able to draft which one stands out for you or do they all sort of think they they’re going to be an impressive players here yeah I think our you know this year we went in and uh we drafted players with a high upside so it’s you know it might not have been the the pick that people were projecting but there’s there’s potential there for all of our guys I mean we like the 2D man we drafted Paras saac we really like our guys love him at the at the junior level they think there’s a huge upside with him a couple guys late in the rounds too I think are uh projects but they could turn out also so it’s I we’re really excited about the draft MC your door is always going to be open to to Chris Patrick think about back to the time when you took over from George MC what do you think Chris’s first questions first phone calls to you will be about I I think it’s he’s I think the emotional part of wins and losses which are when you’re the manager and you’re with the coaches it’s it’s there’s a lot of ups and downs that go on during the year and how do you manage that and a manager I think you know has to take a step back from that day-to-day emotion and he has to kind of get coaches through it get a few of the players through it and be a calming presence with that now one of your mentors was George MC and he sort of has the same role in Vegas vas yeah have you talked to him about that yeah yeah talked to him yeah wondered how he liked it and you know as this transition was going down I’m got a good perspective from him on what he liked and you know what he gave up and how it’s going for him Locker’s been asking you I’ve been asking you about the uh the free agent acquisitions heading into free agency heading into the draft heading into development Camp you said that the organization was going to be aggressive you were very very true to your word is there still more to be done maybe on your checklist before we get into Camp I I think it could be there could be some things but I I think we want to let it settle in here see what we did and um you know get get the coaches with the players get a more consistent lineup and see where everybody fits in and then make decisions based off that well I told Chris to keep it going yeah what about up the middle you know we talk about defense in the past now everybody’s talking about strength up the middle just touch on the capsule way they can line up this upcoming season yeah I think we we got good depth up to the middle and and a lot of variety of skill sets you know I mean Dow’s been a great player for us we got two young guys coming and lapy and mcel uh stromer’s had a great year he’s established himself and then dub come in and he’s going to provide a good two-way game also you would think somewhere in there that you’d like McMichael and leier to both be on the on the big Club roster when we break Camp you would then assume that somebody’s going to move to the wing which of those two youngsters leier and McMichaels maybe more accustomed to it I I think McMichaels had probably more experience but I think the coaches will figure it out they they’ll try both I would assume um you know and try and create a lineup that they they want to match up with certain teams and use probably both of them on wing and Center going forward and now you just mentioned coaches carbury did a wonderful job last season what made him such a good coach for your group last year I I mean I think he he gets players uh demands a lot is holds them accountable makes him bring their game every night and I think uh he was good for our young guys I thought he was good for the older guys too just a good skill set of how to manage people how to motivate and you know get a good compete level out of everybody you mentioned it during the press conference uh how Chris was around the hockey team more we could see him on planes we could see him in travel trips we could see him in the rink talking with players how often does a general manager address the Players directly I think it’s you know I think every guy’s different um you know sometimes you can search out certain players sometimes you know the players that need to be left alone I think Chris will figure out his own personality his own path and how he interacts with guys I think you know given his relationship with guys that have played in Hershey I think that’ll be beneficial for him with the younger guys so it’ll be exciting and the Patricks have quite the lineage in the National Hockey League now right it’s impressive it’s impressive yeah aard yeah heard of our we see we see him there with the AHL cder Cup right amazing that Chris and Dick Patrick are the sixth and seventh from one family to be on the Stanley Cup that that shook me when I read that yeah I agree wow look at that things change youth hockey players caps draft amazing you know again I mentioned that I I I met Chris in my late 20s early 30s when I was still foolish enough to put the goalie gear on and he would occasionally blow slap shots past me obviously Chris was drafted by the Caps I was not um when you think about the type of player or player that you were the type of player that he was do does a does a manager look out and and look down at his development chart and say I need players like me or like players who made it difficult for me to play against yeah probably a combination of both Joe I think you know your experience of how how you were as a player and versus like you said you know guys you played with guys you played against I mean I think when you’re constructing a team you need a little bit of everything you need the size you need the little competitiveness you need a skill so you try and balance all those factors out within your team I want to touch on the goal tending sort of you know Charlie took over last year it seemed like now you bring in Thompson from Vegas are you pretty very very happy with what you’re seeing there plus the prospects in Hershey yeah I think we have four good go ERS uh you know at various stages of development um you know our two guys Thompson’s you know establishing him himself as a good number one in the league and same with Charlie so I’m excited to see what they can bring um both to our team was Charlie more than expected when you first brought him in I think we had hopes I think the sample size was a little small but we you know we saw potential took a gamble on him and he took advantage of it and uh really established himself two guys are going to push each other I mean Logan’s an All-Star in the Western Conference a 25 game winner with Vegas you’ve got two really good goalies at a very economical price I might add yes yes you You’ really like the cap hit on the go well it’s business and hockey right yes that’s what it’s all about now yeah and plus there two R but now it’s primarily on Chris’s table yeah when those guys come walking in and hold their hand out you you show them the doorway of exactly don’t bother me with contract demands go and see Chris exactly is that do you like and did you like and do you and I’m sure you’ll still be involved in it but do you like the negotiating part of it I do it’s hard it’s intense um there’s a lot of pressure when it’s coming down to deadlines draft you know free agency deadlines the deadlines create pressure and it keeps you up at night it keeps you you know thinking about it constantly so it’s it’s not an easy job to do and when you execute though you feel real good about it you know you’re there’s a high there there’s adrenaline rush and you feel good about what you’ve accomplished so there’s a trade-off between the two and boy that has changed they used to just give us the number and say you want or told you right back 180 or 190 God you got paid way more than me how is that possible there a few more zeros nowadays huh just a few more to go geez Louise uh one last question while we have you back and we do appreciate all the Insight on this day that uh Chris Patrick has been named senior vice president and general manager of the Washington Capitals one player in particular I’m wondering how he reacted to the offseason moves uh tell us any contact any conversations you may have had with Alex oich yeah I had uh you know um you know more before we went into free agency you know he’s you know what do you think you guys going to be able to do had a general discussion there and then more texting back and forth as we accomplish some stuff uh he’s he’s a big Emoji guys so we got more more emojis than texts or dialogue so and I talked to him they explain you know Chris is taking over and I’ll still be around well let’s talk about Obie just continue that thought you have real nice centers up the middle who do you envision him maybe starting with H or have you even had thoughts about that I haven’t you know I I mean talk carb I’ll have ideas on that I think he’ll try all of them you know I think it’s worked with stro to a certain extent obviously dwaz going to get a chance with Obie see if there’s a chemistry there and um they’ll go from there after that Brian mclen big thumbs up for your performance today uh make sure you’re not a stranger I’m sure you’ll be in the booth more now to throw stuff at lock this is like a documentary here it sure is to continue it Al Cen and Allan may all right Joe Locker Brian thank you so much uh we’ve got the new uh senior vice president and general manager of the Washington Capitals Chris Patrick here have you answered enough questions today this is the most time I’ve ever SE how are you enjoying this this is the new this is the new the future for you you know you got to be in front of the microphone explaining everything I see why Mac always runs away from you guys now when he sees you yeah well it’s just historic that’s all just well you know when you look at this and you’ve been around the Washington Capitals longer than I’ve been around the Washington Capitals I got here in 89 and you were a kid that was about the same height as me or like 12 years old back then but you come from a hockey family you wor you’ve played collegiately you you got out of it for a while you come back and you’ve worked your way up how important were all those steps along the way in your hockey journey to become the general manager yeah I mean for me I just wanted to do it the right way um I didn’t want to have anything given to me or have anything looked like it was given to me um you know I wasn’t naive to the fact that you know my family name could lend itself to that so um and I I embraced it too like I i’ I’ve loved every step of the way here like I I loved when I first started i’ go to a Junior game and you know you drive into town and you grab a coffee and you find somewhere high in the stands and you watch the game and then I loved going to to NHL games I mean the the the people that are pro Scouting For for teams in this league it’s a great group of people they’re welcoming they’re fun um and that was a great time in my life and then getting more involved with Hershey and and doing a little bit of team building there and and obviously uh you know going on some runs and winning some championships and and getting your heartbeating a little fast in June was always fun so um so yeah I I’ve really kind of treasured treasured it all along the way you mentioned your family I’m sure it must have been tremendous to have your dad sitting up there on the de with you as you introduced uh the Patrick family not just the immediate family but you know I think about Craig and the success he had in Pittsburgh and the generations before that too how much has that meant to you to have knowing that this is you know maybe just part of your legacy that you can take the Patrick Legacy to another level yeah I mean it’s always been a been a cool thing uh you know hockey nerd when I was a kid stuff the first thing I do is go back to the index and uh look for Patrick’s and look for where you know find pictures of my grandfather his brother my great-grandfather um you know I yeah I mean I it was not wasted on me how special it was to be part of the Patrick family um and and I hope I didn’t take it for granted or or you know make anybody think that I wasn’t uh totally respectful and in awe of what you know some of the Patricks before me have done um you know it’s uh it’s it’s a really really great group of people I I used to love as a kid being around my uncles and and my father and and hearing the stories and and uh and then and my grandfather as well had some great stories um so it’s been a fun it’s been it’s been fun being part of it well when you look back on so many things to do at the Patrick name I my favorite era of hockey and I’m having a hard time with this Evolution and growth of the game and the changing landscape but I love the Patrick division because of the kind of hockey was played back then I love the Chuck Norris division you know when that went away I felt like the NHL was forever changing so I I really missed that and I know and your dad first got here with David P uh they made a huge trade and they acquired Craig Lin uh what are you going to do uh I know this been a huge month it’s been incredible we’ve been texting and calling each other non-stop as broadcasters and how happy we’ve been and seeing how this team is developed are you going to put a signature move on this team now that you’re officially the general manager yeah I don’t know if we have any money left to put move on but uh yeah I mean I think now I mean this is when the league gets a little quiet I think teams are trying to finish up whatever rfas they have left um you know I think there’s 14 or 15 players that file for arbitration so they got to work through that stuff um and then and August gets pretty quiet I mean I think there’ll be some opportunities here and there for maybe some smaller things but we’ll we’ll just kind of weigh them as they come in and really I don’t anticipate much until training camp and we’ll see where we are manager College who tries to seal Tom Wilson for you from a couple third round draft choices yeah that that that’d be a hard sell on me well what is that going to be I mean are you kind of looking forward to that that first call or you making that first call what about some of the actual details of the job are kind of exciting for you to to to be able to now do and call your own shot on that yeah um well several several GMS I have relationships with from before have already reached out and and again very welcoming group um um Jim nil actually called me this morning and and I didn’t have a relationship with him so that I thought was really cool um but yeah you know I think I said yesterday to you Al like it was really easy from where I was sitting before for Mac to come in and say you know so and so thinks we we should give you know a second rounder for this guy and no way Mac that’s way too much and he’s like okay well you want to call him and tell him that then so so that’ll be different is kind of navigating the littleit being a little more diplomatic how you talk to the other GMS and when we look at where the franchise has gone I guess really in your lifetime There Was You Know Ted takes over the ownership and then you have basically the oie era but I felt like there was a rebirth of the franchise when Mack became the general manager and he hires Barry trots and the roster changed and just in a few years you you’re part of this you win a Stanley Cup where do you see this team being right now uh as far as rebuilding rebirth what whatever you want to refer to it as the reload how do you feel about the current state of things with the Washington Capitals yeah I feel pretty good I mean I think you know looking to some of the moves we did here I mean obviously getting Pier Luke dubba like last this time last year 15 teams were lining up to try to trade for him and sign him and and you know he went to LA and for whatever reason he didn’t have a good year we think we think you know we figure out why and we think that he’ll have a good year here it’s definitely a risk but I think we feel pretty comfortable about it and and so you get a guy that potentially be a really good player for you for a lot of years that’s just turned 26 um I think we we’re starting to build in that kind of like next age group of players um you know like Dylan stro and and that age level and then you’ve got the next level below that with with Connor and Alexi protos and and then you’ve got the guys that just kind of finished up winning a couple championships in Hershey and then a couple drafts worth the guys so I think you’ve got kind of layers of of good players coming which you know it’s either going to help the team on the ice or it’s going to help the team get a get a player to help them on the ice so I I I think we’re as well positioned as we’ve been in a long time from a prospect and talent pool also think because of your relationships with the people in Hershey the people in South Carolina you had an early relationship with Spencer gury right so that’s got to be a real Advantage for you coming into this role a unique relationship that you had with nobody else in the organization could really say definitely carbs and I have a great relationship and and he feels comfortable to speak frankly to me and vice versa um and which which definitely helps me you don’t necessarily have that luxury when you’re hired into a new organization as a GM and and that and that goes really for for a lot of people um in the organization I mean over especially over the last couple years I’ve been around the team more you know developing relationships with with Jason cus developing relationships with Zach Len and and um and Brock miles I mean just like all these people you have to interact with all the time in order to have a successful organization and and already having those established coming into this role I think is just huge and as we go forward it’ be the last question for me is what are your expectations for the team this season uh I mean I I think I I think we have a good chance to be competing for a playoff spot um you know I think if if we can stay healthy and and um you know I think the goal tending is able to replicate what it did last year or get close to it I think we have a good chance to be competitive for a playoff spot Chris thank you so much for your time congratulations look forward to working with you down the road thanks a lot appreciate it guys Chris Patrick the new senior vice president and general manager of the Washington Capitals in a big moment coming up this year the 50th anniversary of the Washington Capitals almost as many years as Craig Lan has been part of this organization let’s go over to him and Joe benady sure feels that way doesn’t Al as uh as we think about that 50th Anniversary season I I shake my head thinking about the time that I arrived in 1994 so I’ve been there for for 30 of it and here it comes it will be a season opener with the New Jersey Devils there’ll be lots of pump and Circumstance throughout the entire campaign hopefully a very good one for the capitals in the Metro division yeah as part of the alumni we’re really excited on the way dick Patrick and the whole organization has stepped up we’re going to have a lot of need and initiatives including a Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday guys are going to be here we’re going having more alumni coming to town that we’ve ever had before we’re going to have an alumni game we’re going to have some those days in the leadup to the season opener to the season opener and then the Caps will kick off the season on that Saturday night it’s going to be a wonderful week to celebrate 50 years of hockey here in Washington so when the capitals take the ice um throughout the 50 years of this this organization this organization’s always been known for playing well solid defensively ever since they turned the corner and became a playoff Contender the capitals have always been known for strong defense and the additions that dick Patrick uh sorry that u u Brian mlen and Chris Patrick made recently especially among the defense Corp will help the likes of John Carlson when you see a Matt Roy and a Jacob chran on this roster it’s definitely going to lighten the load on number 74 absolutely he’s going to play less minutes I would think I think of Chan you get a Dynamo on the blue line much like John Carlson he can pound the puck he’s got an offensively and you look at everybody they’ve added I like the fact that they’re big they’re strong they can all skate the speed of the team is going to be impressive more so and I think that’s going to really help this franchise Roy is steady and strong you can imagine him being out there lots of penalty killing work ch’s a physical specimen when when he shows up at the rink you know there’s a a phys I ality to his game but also what jumps out at you is tremendous Mobility I think he’ll add greatly to their to their offensive push absolutely and you know when you’re moving that puck up to a guy like stro now du you go maybe Lappy or Dow up the middle I’ve always believed and even talking to Mack about the strength up the middle now the D can move the puck quickly get it into the hands I’m looking forward to seeing duah play here in Washington he’s got a nasty side to him and if you add him in with those Big D that they’ve got that can skate it’s going to be an exciting season Alan May steering back to that defensive side someone like Alex alexv who we thought really came on strongly at the end of last season with the additions now it’s going to be hard for him to make that opening night lineup well what I look at everything to do with the roster right now you look at players are being slotted in better areas so just there a huge upgrade with Chan and Roy and you look at the top four it’ll be interesting to see who’s paired with who but I thought players were playing a lot in the line up last year and and kind of the The Testament to the coaching staff what they were able to do with the roster as it went on a really quality style of play when things were going well and I think with a with a roster of defenseman like you’re getting in these guys and Chan and Matt Roy I think all of a sudden guys just push down the lineup and it’s not a bad thing it’s just more appropriately slotted in the lineup Mitch love now will have more options on terms of matchups who he wants to pair with whom as opposed to the desperation moves that some times last year just you know out of necessity I got to throw this guy in there whether I want to or not the other thing I think is going to be really critical lessen the minutes of John Carlson on the penalty kill you know it’s now those aren’t equal minutes penalty kill minutes are not regular minutes and if you can lessen his minutes his freshness at the end of games throughout the season is going to be so much bigger I also look at those additions that he made panes the chickens big names the dams and the radishes of the world those could be real fins Brandon H kind of is like a garnet halfway 2.0 hits but he also gets in people’s faces well when you look at it once again it’s exciting you look at du a very physical player that’ll bring some nastiness to the lineup radish is an upside as far as goal scoring so I think when you look at all of it uh just everything’s slotting better as you go forward here and then Pier Luke duah becomes the the number one Center on the team at 6’4 you can’t teach that and he’s had a good NHL career regardless of anything else that’s been said he was phenomenal when he was in Columbus he’s put up big numbers he averages 24 goals a season I expect him to have a career year in every category Joe B Locker will give you the one more last word Al we can’t go through an hour of NHL talk in the summertime without saying the name Andrew mapani yeah mapani comes to town and this is a guy Locker who will I believe generate scoring chances he’s a very good playmaker he’s a couple of years removed from a 30-goal season I think this change of season would be very good for Andrew mapan I see him in the top six he’s a Darter you know he’s a guy that hits the lane at the right time every time we played against him in Calgary I was always impressed at the end of the game with his handling of the puck the speed the darting in and out of traffic I think he’s a real big find and ass signing for this caps team speaking of the word impressive Al uh being so close to the day with dick Patrick uh Brian mclen Chris Patrick and Ted leanis that is a wonderful group moving forward for this Washington Capitals organization Joe B no doubt about it Joe thank you Locker thank you very much Allan’s been great to be back with you because it’s now I guess summertime I I maybe they’re going to pull another rabbit out of their hat with some more announcements but a big day for the Washington Capitals as Chris Patrick becomes the general manager Brian McCullen in the new role of President of hockey operations and the Washington Capital organization well set for the future the season gets started in October and we look forward to having you join us here on monumentals Sports Network thank you for being with us this afternoon from a very steamy downtown Washington we appreciate you joining us [Music]

The entire introductory press conference from Monumental Sports Network with Washington Capitals senior vice president and general manager Chris Patrick from District E in Washington, D.C. on July 9, 2024.