Go West, Young Man—Lester Patrick

Lester Patrick was one of the great early pioneers of hockey and  the progenitor of one of the most famous families in the game. He was instrumental in spreading the professional game from the established hockey hotbed of Montreal to Western Canada. Later, he was key in the game’s introduction as a major sport in the United States.

Patrick’s contribution to hockey in Alberta was controversial, to say the least. Even though he only spent a handful of games as a hired gun for the Edmonton Eskimos, his time with the club was fraught with controversy. Eventually, Stanley Cup trustees changed the player-eligibility rules after a December, 1908 final which saw Patrick and five other hired guns make appearances for an Eskimos team that had signed them right before it was to face the Montreal Wanderers for the Cup.

Born in Drummondville, Quebec, Patrick was one of the first true superstars of the game. As a rushing defenceman, he won Stanley Cups in 1906 and 1907 with the Montreal Wanderers. He was a pioneer—before Patrick, no defenceman ever regularly joined the offensive rushes and attempted to become a threat to the oppositions goalie. He grandfathered the role of offensive defenceman that would make the likes of Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey famous.

But even though the Wanderers had broken with their amateur roots and were paying their stars, it wasn’t the kind of money Patrick could earn in the world of business. He relocated to British Columbia with his family in 1907, as his father Joe wanted to start a lumber business; but when the Edmonton Eskimos won the Alberta Hockey League title in 1908, earning them the right to play the Wanderers for the Cup, Patrick jumped at the chance to come in as a ringer and play against his old team. The Eskimos declared a seven-man roster for the Cup final; six of those players were brought in especially for the final. Despite howls of protest from Montreal, the Eskimos were allowed to ice the controversial team. In the end, the Wanderers prevailed 13-10 in a two-game, total-goals series. Still, because of the roster debacle, the Cup trustees created new rules limiting the additions a team could make before a Cup final.

Patrick relocated to Ontario in 1910 to play in the upstart National Hockey Association, but he and brother Frank returned to British Columbia in 1911 with dreams of creating a new pro league in the West. The pair sold the family lumber business and launched a new league, the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, a league that not only brought pro hockey that could rival the NHA to the West, it brought teams to the United States, as well. From 1915 to 1925, the PCHA champions were guaranteed the right to play for the Stanley Cup. In 1915, the Vancouver Millionaires captured the Cup and in 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first Amercian team to capture the prize. In 1925, the Victoria Cougars, coached by Patrick, seized the Cup.

The PCHA also revolutionized the game. Patrick’s influence led to the creation of blue lines, penalty shots, forward passes and changing players on the fly.

The PCHA folded in 1926. The League was destroyed by large-spending owners who had dreams of outstripping the new National Hockey League. In the end, the spending sprees destroyed the League, but Patrick continued to forward the frozen game in new territories. He took over the New York Rangers a year later, coaching them to the Cup final in 1928. In Game 2 of the finals against the Montreal Maroons, Rangers’ goalie Lorne Chabot was forced to leave the game with an eye injury. NHL teams did not carry back-ups in those days, so Patrick, at age 44, left the coach’s bench to play in net, and led his Blueshirts to a 2-1 overtime win. It was the emotional lift that would help the Rangers win the Cup. Patrick managed the Rangers to two more Cup triumphs, in 1933 and 1940, and was the key man in establishing hockey in North America’s media capital.

Because of his contributions to hockey, the Lester Patrick Trophy was created in 1966 to honour the executive or player who helps expand the game in the United States. Lynn and Muzz Patrick, his sons, both played for and coached the Rangers. And grandson Craig Patrick is currently the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and has served as an executive with USA Hockey.

Just as Gretzky, Messier and Lowe would do 60 to 70 years later, Patrick was a former Edmonton player who made an indelible mark with the Rangers.

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