Don Fishman

Don Fishman is in his 16th season with the Washington Capitals and 11th as assistant general manager and director of legal affairs. In this role, he handles player contract negotiations, player contract research and analysis, the club's day-to-day salary cap position, team salary cap strategic planning, the salary arbitration process, NHL and team salary cap analysis, and interpretation of NHL/ NHLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) issues. Fishman also assists the club's general manager with the day-to-day operations of the Capitals hockey operations department such as roster issues, player movement, preseason and regular season scheduling, budgeting, and training camp planning.

Fishman, who spent two seasons as director of legal affairs and hockey administration before his appointment to assistant general manager, also helped lead the organization's efforts on a number of other special projects, including attracting 2016 World Cup of Hockey exhibition games to Washington, bringing the United States Men's Olympic Hockey Team Orientation Camp to the Capitals' Arlington, Virginia training facility in 2013, and bringing American Hockey League regular season games to Washington in 2012 and 2014. Fishman was also involved with the planning for the three outdoor hockey games involving the Capitals, 2011 Winter Classic (Pittsburgh), 2015 Winter Classic (Nationals Park), and 2018 Stadium Series game (Annapolis). Finally, Fishman serves as legal counsel for the Capitals organization generally.

Prior to joining the Capitals, Fishman served as general counsel of two Washington, D.C. city government agencies. In his role with District government, he worked as part of the local host committee that successfully bid for the NCAA Men's Hockey Frozen Four, held in Washington, D.C. in 2009. Fishman also worked as a corporate and communications lawyer in Washington and Los Angles with Latham & Watkins and Ervin, Cohen & Jessup. Fishman, a native Washingtonian, graduated with an economics degree from Harvard College, where he also served as the radio voice of Harvard Hockey, and a law degree from UCLA School of Law. Fishman has also coached local youth hockey for nearly a decade and helped found (2018) and continues to coach D.C.'s first public middle school ice hockey team at Alice Deal Middle School (DCPS).