The son of the legendary Lester Patrick, Lynn carved his own niche in the NHL.

Playing 10 seasons in the League, all with the New York Rangers, Patrick scored 336 points (145 goals, 191 assists) in 455 games and won the Stanley Cup in 1940. He was also coached in his first five seasons by his father, who resigned following the 1938-39 season.

Patrick developed into a leading scorer for the Rangers late in his career. He led the League in goals (32) in 1941-42, when he was named to the First All-Star Team. The following season, he had an NHL career-high 61 points (22 goals, 39 assists) in 50 games and was named to the Second All-Star Team.

He would go on to serve in the United States Army during World War II before returning to the NHL during the 1945-46 season. However, Patrick found the time away had slowed him down, and as a result, he switched from forward to defenseman and had 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 38 games.

Following the season, Rangers manager Frank Boucher announced that Patrick would manage the team's American Hockey League affiliate, the New Haven Ramblers during the 1946-47 season. Although he had taken part in New York's training camp that fall, he said he would only play if necessary (because of injuries) and was listed as a utility player.

In a quote from the Ottawa Citizen on Oct. 8 1946, Patrick said he was "good for another couple of years in the NHL, but this appointment (in the AHL) is a great opportunity and too good a job to pass up."

Still, he played in 16 games with New Haven in 1946-47, getting two goals and six assists.

He spent one more season with New Haven before replacing Boucher as Rangers coach midway through the 1948-49 season. In 1949-50, he led New York to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where it defeated the Montreal Canadiens in five games in the semifinals before losing in seven games to the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final.

After the season, he was hired as coach of the Boston Bruins, where he spent five seasons before being fired during the 1954-55 season. He led the Bruins to the playoffs in each of his four full seasons as coach, including the Cup Final in 1953, where they lost to the Canadiens in five games. He stayed on in Boston as general manager until 1965.

When the NHL expanded from six to 12 teams in 1967, Patrick became the first GM and coach for the St. Louis Blues. He coached St. Louis' first 16 games (4-10-2) that season before being replaced by Scotty Bowman, who would lead the Blues to the Stanley Cup Finals in each of their first three seasons.

Patrick then assumed the role of vice president with St. Louis and occasionally helped out behind the bench, coaching two games during the 1974-75 season and eight games in 1975-76, before retiring from hockey in 1977.

Patrick died on Jan. 26, 1980, at the age of 67. Months later, he was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and in 1989, he was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy, given annually by the NHL and USA hockey for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.

Patrick's sons, Craig and Greg, also played in the NHL. Craig Patrick, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996, was assistant GM and assistant coach for the United States men's hockey team at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, where they defeated the USSR in the game dubbed the "Miracle on Ice" before winning the gold medal. He was also GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins when they won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• NHL First All-Star Team (1942)
• NHL Second All-Star Team (1943)