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Patrick, Lester
Lester Patrick (b at Drummondville, Qué 31 Dec 1883; d at Victoria 1 June 1960), patriarch of a family which dominated the early development of hockey as players and managers. Frank Patrick (b at Ottawa 21 Dec 1885; d at Vancouver 29 June 1960) alongside brother Lester starred at McGill University and played professionally with teams in Montréal and Westmount, and with the Renfrew Millionaires (at $3000 each per season). With their father's support (he was a millionaire lumberman) they formed the Pacific Coast Hockey League in 1911. They built arenas for all teams in the league and Lester played for Victoria, Spokane and Seattle before settling as player-coach and manager in Victoria, where the brothers built Canada's first artificial ice rink.
In 1924 Lester coached and managed the Victoria Cougars to a Stanley Cup victory, but faced with increasing competition from the expanding National Hockey League, he sold his entire roster to NHL owners. He became coach of the NHL's New York Rangers in 1926. In 1928, at age 44, he replaced his injured goaltender in a Stanley Cup match, preserving a Ranger victory, and creating one of hockey's enduring legends. He retired as coach in 1939 and as manager in 1946. Frank Patrick coached Boston and managed the Canadiens, but is best remembered for his innovations - 22 pieces of legislation in the NHL rulebook, including the blue line, were proposed by him.
Lynn Patrick, son of Lester (b at Victoria, BC 3 Feb 1912; d at St Louis, Mo 26 Jan 1980), joined the Rangers in 1934, playing left wing on a superb line with Bryan Hextall and Phil Watson. He was first team all star in 1942 and was later coach of the Rangers and Bruins and manager of St Louis Blues.
Frederick Murray "Muzz" Patrick, son of Lester (b at Victoria, BC 28 June 1916), was a superb all-round athlete, but a less adept skater than his brother. He was a defenceman with the Rangers 1937-41 and 1945-46 and their coach 1954-55 and general manager 1955-64.
The Lester Patrick Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the person contributing most to the development of hockey in the US.
