Craig Patrick Amateur career . After spending most of his childhood in Wellesley , Massachusetts , he was sent at age fourteen to Quebec to play junior hockey in the Metropolitan Montreal Junior League for the Lachine Maroons and later the Montreal Junior Canadiens . He attended the University of Denver where he helped guide the Pioneers hockey team to the NCAA championship in 1968 and 1969 . He played on the US National Team for 1969 – 70 and 1970 – 71 seasons , including the 1970 and 1971 Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments while serving in the US Army . Career as a professional player . Patrick ' s pro career was comparatively modest but he did play eight seasons in the NHL with the California Golden Seals , the St . Louis Blues , the Kansas City Scouts , and the Washington Capitals . He also played briefly for the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the World Hockey Association in 1976 – 77 before jumping back to the NHL when the Saints folded . He amassed 72 goals , 91 assists , and 163 points in 401 NHL games during his playing career . He also was a member of Team USA at the inaugural 1976 Canada Cup tournament and also played for the U . S . at the 1979 Ice Hockey World Championship tournament in Moscow , shortly before retiring from professional hockey . The Miracle on Ice . Patrick served as Assistant General Manager and Assistant Coach under Herb Brooks for the 1980 US Olympic Gold Medal winning hockey team , the " Miracle on Ice . " He was also the general manager of the 2002 US Olympic team , which won the silver medal – the first US hockey medal since the 1980 team . NHL management and beyond . In 1980 , he became director of operations for the New York Rangers and in 1981 became the youngest general manager in Rangers ' history . He also served as head coach of the Rangers for parts of two seasons ( 1980 – 81 and 1984 – 85 ) . He was named general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 5 , 1989 . During his tenure , the Penguins won two Stanley Cup championships and one President ’ s Trophy . Patrick also served as head coach of the Penguins twice , during the 1989 – 90 and 1996 – 97 seasons . His early years as GM of the Penguins are remembered as some of the most productive in the history of the franchise . In 1990 , he spent his first round draft pick on an unknown player from Czechoslovakia named Jaromír Jágr . He traded the Penguins ' second round pick that year to Calgary for Joe Mullen , a player the Flames had considered to be over the hill . Perhaps his most legendary trade occurred March 4 , 1991 , when he sent John Cullen , Jeff Parker and Zarley Zalapski to the Hartford Whalers in exchange for Ron Francis , Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings . The move was viewed as a huge gamble . Cullen was the fifth leading scorer in the NHL at the time . However , the players Patrick acquired in the trade played big roles in the Penguins ' Stanley Cup championship victories in 1991 and 1992 . However his later years were plagued by the Penguins ' financial woes as well as a series of poor trades . Perhaps his most infamous trades came in March 1996 when he send future NHL scoring ace Markus Näslund to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Alek Stojanov , a role player with just two career NHL goals . In 2003 , a Sports Illustrated article described this as the " worst trade in NHL history , " . The subsequent trade of Sergei Zubov , a perennial contender for the Norris Trophy , also hurt the team . Another disaster came in July 2001 when Patrick sent NHL superstar Jaromír Jágr and role player Frantisek Kucera to the Washington Capitals for three minor league prospects ( Kris Beech , Michal Sivek , Ross Lupaschuk ) and nearly $ 5 million cash . Although the deal was forced by the Penguins financial woes as well as Jágr ' s growing dissatisfaction with the Penguins , the trade was widely criticized in the Pittsburgh media . None of the three prospects acquired in the deal made any significant contribution to the Penguins ' organization . Another reason for this criticism was because the New York Rangers were willing to make a deal which would have given Pittsburgh two established players and higher quality prospects . But many believed Patrick resented the Rangers for firing him earlier in his GM career , which made him ask for a greater and to an extent unfair return . One published report had Patrick demanding Petr Nedved , Radek Dvorak and Mike York , as well as two prospects for Jágr , which Rangers GM Glen Sather quickly shot down due to the number of players demanded by Patrick . His tenure as GM also saw a hit and miss record in the NHL Entry Draft . Sparkling first round picks early in his tenure such as Jágr , Martin Straka and Markus Näslund were balanced by later first round busts such as Chris Wells , Róbert Döme , Craig Hillier , Milan Kraft and Stefan Bergkvist . Productive drafts in the early 2000s produced young talent such as Marc - André Fleury , Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby , could not reverse the growing opinion in the public or among team management that Patrick had lost his touch . Patrick was relieved of his duties as Penguins General Manager on April 20 , 2006 , when his expiring contract was not renewed by team president Ken Sawyer . On January 9 , 2014 , Patrick was named Special Assistant / Advisor to the Hockey Operations department of the Buffalo Sabres . Patrick family history . Five members of the Patrick family have won the Stanley Cup . Lester Patrick ( Craig ' s grandfather ) with Montreal Wanderers 1907 ( player ) , Victoria Cougars 1925 ( president / manager - coach ) , New York Rangers 1928 ( playing manager - coach ) , 1933 ( manager - coach ) , 1940 ( manager ) Frank Patrick ( Craig ' s great uncle ) - Vancouver Millionaires 1915 ( playing president / manager - coach ) , Lynn Patrick ( Craig ' s father ) - New York Rangers 1940 ( player ) Murray " Muzzy " Patrick ( Craig ' s uncle ) - New York Rangers 1940 ( player ) Craig Patrick - Pittsburgh Penguins 1991 , 1992 ( general manager ) Glenn Patrick ( Craig ' s brother ) - never won the Stanley Cup . Curtiss Patrick ( Craig ' s nephew ) - minor league hockey player in the AHL and ECHL . Other . Patrick was named " The Sporting News " Executive - of - the - Year in 1998 and 1999 . He is the third generation of his family to have his name inscribed on the Stanley Cup and the third generation to be enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame ( in the Builder Category ) . Patrick spent two years as athletic director at the University of Denver ( his alma mater ) in 1988 – 1989 . He was enshrined into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996 . He was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy , named for his grandfather , in the 1999 – 2000 season for his outstanding service to hockey in the United States .