Editing Lester Patrick (section)

==Later life and legacy==
[[File:Lester Patrick grave marker.jpg|thumb|Patrick's grave marker|alt=Flat grey granite stone inscribed with his name, birth and death years]]
[[File:Frank Patrick.jpg|thumb|right|[[Frank Patrick (ice hockey)|Frank Patrick]] with the [[Renfrew Creamery Kings]] on a [[hockey card]], circa 1910–12. The Patrick brothers introduced the [[blue line (ice hockey)|blue line]], the [[penalty shot (ice hockey)|penalty shot]], and tracking [[assist (ice hockey)|assists]], among others.]]
Patrick developed lung cancer, and his health quickly deteriorated. He died in Victoria after a heart attack on June 1, 1960, aged 76.<ref>{{harvnb|Whitehead|1980|p=251}}</ref> He was interred in the family plot at the Royal Oak Burying Park.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hockey Greats To Attend Patrick Rites|date=June 2, 1960|newspaper=[[Times Colonist]]|location=Victoria, British Columbia|page=1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-colonist-patrick-1960/168720659/}}</ref> Exactly four weeks later, he was followed by his brother Frank, who was 74; Frank's death was also attributed to a heart attack.<ref>{{harvnb|Whitehead|1980|p=252}}</ref>

The [[Lester Patrick Trophy]], awarded for outstanding contributions to hockey in the United States, is named for him. He was also the namesake of the [[Patrick Division]], one of the former divisions of the NHL teams.<ref name="nhl.com">{{cite web|year=2010 |url=http://www.nhl.com/trophies/patrick.html |title=Lester Patrick Trophy |publisher=[[National Hockey League]] |access-date=April 17, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100109093936/http://www.nhl.com/trophies/patrick.html |archive-date=January 9, 2010 }}</ref> The championships trophy of the [[Western Hockey League (1952–1974)|Western Hockey League]], the [[Lester Patrick Cup]], was renamed after Patrick upon his death in 1960.<ref>{{harvnb|Stott|2008|pp=105–106}}</ref> He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947.<ref name= "Whitehead p. 238">{{harvnb|Whitehead|1980|p=238}}</ref>

As a coach Patrick described his philosophy to reporters: "It is incumbent upon you initially to build up their morale and then maintain it, and before you do that you must have acquired their confidence in your judgement, and you must know the man."<ref>{{harvnb|Boucher|Frayne|1973|p=103}}</ref> He was known to be patient with players, and while he would go onto the ice to show plays, he let the players work on it, aware that it took time for some to learn.<ref>{{harvnb|Boucher|Frayne|1973|p=104}}</ref>

The Patrick brothers created many new rules for hockey, and at least 22 remain in the NHL rulebook to this day. They introduced the blue line, the forward pass, and the playoff system, a change adopted by other leagues and sports around the world. After a suggestion by their father Joe, they began using numbers on players' sweaters and in programs to help fans identify the skaters. A new rule allowed the puck to be kicked everywhere but into the net, and allowed goaltenders to fall to the ice to make a save. They were responsible for crediting assists when a goal was scored, and invented the penalty shot.<ref>{{harvnb|Jenish|2013|p=50}}</ref>

With the Rangers Patrick also became an early advocate of the [[farm team]] system, in which the parent team sponsored several [[minor league|minor]] and [[junior ice hockey|junior]] teams in order to retain their playing rights. This allowed teams like the Rangers, who did not have many local players, to acquire talent from other regions, and kept competing teams from signing all the players.<ref>{{harvnb|Ross|2015|pp=240–241}}</ref> The Rangers developed an extensive system in this way, including forming a new league, the [[Eastern Hockey League|Eastern Amateur Hockey League]], which had teams in the New York region.<ref>{{harvnb|Ross|2015|p=241}}</ref> In 1933 Patrick started hosting Rangers' [[training camps]] in Winnipeg, in a further effort to expand the search for talent beyond the provinces of Ontario and Quebec where the NHL's two Canadian teams (the Toronto Maple Leafs and [[Montreal Canadiens]]) were located.<ref>{{harvnb|Ross|2015|p=242}}</ref>

The Patricks have been dubbed "Hockey's Royal Family".<ref>{{harvnb|McKinley|2009|p=68}}</ref> Patrick's son, [[Lynn Patrick|Lynn]] and grandson [[Craig Patrick|Craig]] were both inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Another son, [[Muzz Patrick|Muzz]], was a player and eventually coach and general manager of the Rangers. Another grandson, [[Glenn Patrick|Glenn]], played in the NHL during parts of the 1970s while another grandson, [[Dick Patrick|Dick]] (Muzz's son) has been an executive and minority owner of the [[Washington Capitals]] since 1982.<ref>{{harvnb|Blumenstock|1982}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Svrluga|2019}}</ref> Great-grandson [[Chris Patrick (ice hockey)|Chris]], the son of Dick, was named general manager of the Capitals in 2024.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gulitti |first=Tom |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/chris-patrick-named-washington-gm-brian-maclellan-remains-president |title=Patrick named Capitals general manager, MacLellan remains president of hockey operations |website=NHL.com |date=July 8, 2024 |access-date=July 8, 2024}}</ref>

Patrick also played a role in the early development of women's hockey. In Nelson his sisters Myrtle, Cynda and Dora were associated with the Nelson Ladies Hockey Club, and in 1911 Patrick would coach the team.<ref>{{harvnb|Norton|2009|p=35}}</ref> In January 1916, the Patrick brothers talked of forming a women's league to complement the PCHA and occupy dates for their arenas in Vancouver and Victoria.<ref>{{harvnb|Norton|2009|p=120}}</ref> The proposal included teams from Vancouver, Victoria, Portland, and Seattle. The league never formed but in January 1917, the ''Vancouver News-Advertiser'' reported that wives of the Seattle Metropolitans had assembled a team. In February 1921, Frank announced a women's international championship series that would be played in conjunction with the PCHA.<ref>{{harvnb|Norton|2009|p=115}}</ref> A series of games were held over that month with teams from Seattle, Vancouver, and Victoria, playing during intermissions of PCHA games.<ref>{{harvnb|Norton|2009|pp=120–121}}</ref> Both Seattle and Victoria's teams disbanded after the series, and the proposed women's league was not further developed.<ref>{{harvnb|Norton|2009|p=123}}</ref>