George McPhee George McPhee ( born July 2 , 1958 , Guelph , Ontario ) is the general manager of the National Hockey League ' s Washington Capitals as well as the team ' s alternate governor and vice president . His nicknames include " GMGM , " short for " General Manager George McPhee , " and " The Undertaker " for his play after the whistle . Playing career . Prior to his career in management , McPhee was a prominent college hockey player at Bowling Green State University . There he was the recipient of the 1982 Hobey Baker Award ( given to college hockey ' s top player ) , was chosen as a First - Team All - Central Collegiate Hockey Association selection in 1982 , Second - Team All - CCHA honors in 1979 and 1981 and was the CCHA ' s Rookie of the Year in 1979 . After college he had a seven year career in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers . Management years . In 1992 , McPhee landed his first major NHL management position , starting as vice president and director of hockey operations as well as alternate governor for the Vancouver Canucks , assisting then general manager Pat Quinn . With McPhee , the team made the playoffs four times , won a division championship , and played in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals , which they lost to the New York Rangers . Washington Capitals . When McPhee joined the Capitals in 1997 , the team was looking to turn around its long storied history of being a regular season juggernaut , only to fold in the playoffs . Things started off great , as McPhee engineered the club ' s first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in his first season . The team has played well under the general management of McPhee , having won four Southeast Division championships ( 1999 – 00 , 2000 – 01 , 2007 – 08 and 2008 – 09 ) , had five 40 - or - more win seasons ( 1997 – 98 , 1999 – 00 , 2000 – 01 , 2007 – 08 and 2008 – 09 ) and a franchise record 108 - point season ( 2008 – 09 ) , yet since McPhee ' s first year , the team has failed to go beyond the second round of the playoffs . 2003 – 04 fire sale . Throughout the 2003 – 04 season , McPhee and Caps owner Ted Leonsis made the decision to scrap the team ' s current lineup in order to dump salaries and begin a youth movement for the team . Thus , in a large fire sale , Sergei Gonchar , Jaromir Jagr , Peter Bondra , Michael Nylander , Mike Grier , Robert Lang and Steve Konowalchuk were all traded within that season . He began the rebuilding of the team by selecting Russia n phenom Alexander Ovechkin with the 1st overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft . Since then , McPhee has cited that he plans to build the Capitals through the entry draft . Retooling years . The 2007 – 08 NHL season would prove to be a hopeful one for McPhee , as the Capitals had seemed to turn the corner in their development . With the players they had homegrown in their own farm system blossoming rapidly , as well as other players acquired through trades and free agent signings fitting in comfortably , there was optimism that the Capitals would again be a viable team on the ice . However , after the Capitals started the 2008 season with a 6 - 14 - 1 record , McPhee fired Hanlon on November 22 and replaced him with Hershey Bears coach Bruce Boudreau . The coaching shake up worked , and the 2007 – 08 season would end with an unprecedented comeback and miraculous Southeast Division Championship . McPhee ' s prowess as a general manager would be verified in the trade deadline pickups of veterans Sergei Fedorov , Matt Cooke and Cristobal Huet , all of which would play a large role in leading the Capitals to their third Southeast Division Championship .