List of Washington Capitals general managers

The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.The team is a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals played at the Capital Centre from their inaugural season in 1974 to 1997, when they moved to the MCI Center, now known as the Capital One Arena. The franchise has had six general managers since their inception.^[1]

Key

Key of terms and definitions
Term	Definition
No.	Number of general managers^[a]
Ref(s)	References
–	Does not apply
†	Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builder category

General managers of the Washington Capitals
No.	Name	Tenure	Accomplishments during this term	Ref(s)
1	Milt Schmidt	April 20, 1973 – December 29, 1975	No playoff appearances	^[2]^[3]
2	Max McNab	December 30, 1975 – November 5, 1981	No playoff appearances	^[3]^[4]
3	Roger Crozier (interim)	November 5, 1981 – August 27, 1982	No playoff appearances	^[4]^[5]
4	David Poile†	August 30, 1982 – May 12, 1997	1 division title and 14 playoff appearances	^[5]^[6]
5	George McPhee	June 9, 1997 – April 26, 2014	1 Stanley Cup Finals appearance (1998) Won Presidents' Trophy (2009–10) 1 conference title, 7 division titles, and 10 playoff appearances	^[7]^[8]
6	Brian MacLellan	May 26, 2014 – July 8, 2024	Won Stanley Cup (2018) Won Presidents' Trophy twice (2015–16, 2016–17) 1 conference title, 5 division titles, and 9 playoff appearances	^[1]^[9]
7	Chris Patrick	July 8, 2024 – present		^[9]

^a A running total of the number of general managers of the franchise. Thus any general manager who has two or more separate terms as general manager is only counted once.

^ ^a ^b "Capitals Promote Brian MacLellan to General Manager, Name Barry Trotz Coach". Washington Capitals. May 26, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
^ "Pollin picks Hall of Famer to run Washington NHL club". The Capital. April 21, 1973. p. 13. Retrieved July 22, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "McVie new Caps' coach". Press-Republican. December 31, 1975. p. 15. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Fachet, Robert (November 6, 1981). "Pollin Fires McNab, Green". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Blumenstock, Kathy (August 31, 1982). "Poile Says Capitals Will Make Playoffs". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
^ Alexander, Rachel (May 13, 1997). "AFTER 15-YEAR STAY WITH THE CAPITALS, POILE GOES". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
^ "Three N.H.L. Teams Fill Coaching Vacancies". The New York Times. June 10, 1997. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
^ "Capitals Announce Changes to Front Office and Coaching Staff". Washington Capitals. April 26, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Gulitti, Tom (July 8, 2024). "Patrick named Capitals general manager, MacLellan remains president of hockey operations". NHL.com. Retrieved July 8, 2024.