Lynn Patrick

Lynn Patrick

Joseph Lynn Patrick (February 3, 1912 – January 26, 1980) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and executive. As a player, Patrick played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League. Lynn was an important member of one Stanley Cup title the Rangers won in 1940.

After his playing career, he went on to be the coach of the Rangers and general manager and coach of the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues. He was the first coach in the history of the Blues, but resigned during their maiden 1967–1968 season; when he elevated his assistant to his old post behind the bench, Patrick gave Scotty Bowman his first head coaching job in the NHL. Patrick would later coach the Blues on two other occasions during the 1970s.

He was the son of NHL Hall of Famer Lester Patrick, brother of fellow NHL player Muzz Patrick, and the father of Lester Lee Patrick, from his first marriage, and Craig Patrick, the former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager, who served in that capacity from 1989 until 2006. Once when his father Lester Patrick had won the Stanley Cup and put it in his basement, a youthful Lynn and Muzz carved their own names into the Cup. Lynn Patrick was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1980. His uncle Frank Patrick is also a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, as is his father and son Craig. He was married to film actress Dorothy Patrick.

He was on his way home from a game between the Colorado Rockies and the St. Louis Blues at the St. Louis Arena to walk the dog his daughter had given him, when he suffered a heart attack, and his car crashed into a fire hydrant. He died that night.

In 2009, Patrick was ranked No. 27 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons).