- Ted Leonsis will receive the 2026 Lester Patrick Trophy for service to hockey in the U.S
- The Capitals owner gets honored Nov. 30 in Washington with the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame class
- Read below for Gary Bettman’s comments and the family twist behind the award
Ted Leonsis is having quite the fall.
Two weeks after owners unanimously elected him chairman of the NHL Board of Governors, the Capitals owner has been named the 2026 recipient of the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States. The NHL made it official Tuesday morning.
Here’s the league’s announcement:
Leonsis will be honored Nov. 30 in Washington as part of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction celebration. That night has a heavy Caps flavor already, with T.J. Oshie going in alongside Phil and Amanda Kessel, Ryan Suter and longtime USA Hockey athletic trainer Stan Wong in the Class of 2026.
Gary Bettman explained what made Leonsis the pick in the league’s release:
“Ted Leonsis epitomizes the essence of effective leadership,” Bettman said. “He turns inspired vision into groundbreaking results through flawless execution. Hockey in the United States, particularly in and around Washington, D.C., has been among the primary beneficiaries of that dynamic combination.”
The commissioner also talked about what the franchise has meant to the city off the ice:
“Ted’s stewardship of the Washington Capitals over the last 27 years has been transformative — for the franchise, for the downtown neighborhood reinvigorated by the Caps’ presence and investment, and for the thousands of young people who have come to our game,” Bettman said.
Leonsis bought the Capitals in 1999. Since then, Washington has won the 2018 Stanley Cup, three Presidents’ Trophies and 13 division titles. Only two teams have more than the Caps’ 1,085 regular-season wins over that stretch.
The grassroots numbers are what this award is really about, though. More than 12,000 kids have come through the Future Caps Learn to Play program since 2016, and the team has built or refurbished 14 outdoor street and inline rinks around the area.
USA Hockey registrations in Washington are up more than 220 percent since 2005-06. Across D.C., Maryland and Virginia, the number of registered girls and women players has climbed 225 percent in that same window.
Rachel Hopmayer summed up the league’s reasoning:
There’s a fun family connection here too. Lester Patrick’s grandson, Dick Patrick, is the Capitals’ chairman and Leonsis’ longtime business partner. He won the same trophy back in 2012.
Recent winners include Ray Shero (2025), Sam Rosen (2024) and Bill Daly (2014). Leonsis gets his during Alex Ovechkin’s final NHL season, a fitting backdrop for the owner who watched the Great 8 finally bring a Cup to D.C.
