The Nashville Predators confirmed the hiring of Colorado Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland on Tuesday.
MacFarland will act as both GM and president of hockey operations in Nashville.
The Predators were on the hunt for their third general manager in franchise history as Barry Trotz is stepping aside after three years in the role.
“We could not be more pleased that Chris has elected to join the Predators organization and lead our hockey operations group,” Predators majority owner Bill Haslam said. “We conducted an exhaustive search and were able to meet with several very qualified and impressive candidates, but all along, we were hopeful to interview Chris. He turned out to be a perfect fit for us – just what we were looking for to lead our organization moving forward.
“I’d like to thank the Colorado Avalanche, the Kroenke family and Joe Sakic for giving Chris permission to talk with us and for supporting his desire to make this move. I’d also like to thank the members of our search committee, those who expressed interest in joining the Predators in this role, and especially Barry Trotz for his work in positioning Chris for success. We appreciate everyone’s time and effort in this endeavor.”
In Colorado, president Joe Sakic will go back to holding general manager duties for “the foreseeable future,” the Avalanche confirmed.
MacFarland began his NHL front office career in 2000-01 with the Columbus Blue Jackets as director of hockey operations, spending 14 seasons with the organization, including eight as assistant general manager.
He moved to the Avalanche in 2015, taking the role of assistant GM and was a part of the team winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. He was elevated to GM in July of 2022 as Joe Sakic moved to president of hockey operations.
In four seasons with MacFarland at the helm, the Avalanche have made the playoffs all four years, reaching the Western Conference Final this season before being swept by the Vegas Golden Knights.
Nashville has missed the playoffs two seasons in a row and three times in the past four years.
