Patrick's pro career was comparatively modest but he did play eight seasons in NHL with the California Golden Seals, the St. Louis Blues, the Kansas City Scouts, and the Washington Capitals.

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.

However, the players Patrick acquired in the trade played big roles in the Penguins' Stanley Cup championship victories in 1991 and 1992.

In July 2001, Patrick sent Jagr and role player Frantisek Kucera to the Washington Capitals for three minor league prospects (Kris Beech, Michal Sivek, Ross Lupaschuk) and nearly US$5 million cash.

The trade was nonetheless widely criticized in the Pittsburgh media, as the three prospects acquired in the deal never made any significant contribution to the Penguins' organization.

Another reason for this criticism was that the New York Rangers allegedly were willing to make a deal which would have given Pittsburgh two established players and higher quality prospects.

However, 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.

After 17 years as Penguins General Manager, Patrick was relieved of his duties on April 20, 2006, when his expiring contract was not renewed by team president Ken Sawyer.

[3] Succeeding GM Ray Shero praised Patrick's selection of Marc-André Fleury, Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin, but also said that work had to be done to build up the depth and third/fourth lines for the long-term, rather than a quick-fix.

[2] The Penguins returned to the postseason in 2007, with Crosby being named regular season MVP and winning the scoring title, though they lost in five games to eventual finalists, the Ottawa Senators.

Patrick's later draft picks, Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby were credited with the team's advance to the Stanley Cup Finals that year, where they lost to the Detroit Red Wings in six games.

Productive drafts in the early 2000s produced young talent such as Marc-André Fleury, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, but could not reverse the growing opinion in the public or among team management that Patrick had lost his touch.