- Predators hire Chris MacFarland as President of Hockey Operations and General Manager
- MacFarland leaves Avalanche after four years as GM and 11 in the front office
- Barry Trotz steps aside into an advisory role with the franchise
Nashville got its man.
The Predators announced Tuesday afternoon that they’ve hired Chris MacFarland as President of Hockey Operations and General Manager, ending a months-long search by pulling one of the league’s most respected executives out of Colorado.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet had the meeting earlier in the day:
Hours later, the team made it official:
MacFarland, 56, spent 11 seasons in the Avalanche front office, the last four as general manager. He worked alongside Joe Sakic to build the 2022 Stanley Cup roster and just finished a 2025-26 campaign in which Colorado set a franchise record with 121 points, won the Presidents’ Trophy, and reached the Western Conference Final before getting swept by Vegas.
Chairman Bill Haslam was asked why MacFarland was always the target:
“We could not be more pleased that Chris has elected to join the Predators organization and lead our hockey operations group. 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.”
The hire ends Barry Trotz’s three-season run as Nashville’s GM. Trotz, the most recognizable figure in Predators history after 15 seasons as their head coach, announced in February that he’d step aside once a successor was identified. He’ll stick around for the next year in an advisory role.
MacFarland’s track record in Colorado runs deep. He was aggressive in the trade market, headlined by the Mikko Rantanen blockbuster with Carolina last January that brought back Martin Necas and Jack Drury, and he locked up cornerstones like Nathan MacKinnon, Devon Toews, and Valeri Nichushkin on long-term deals. The league recognized the work last month when he was named a Jim Gregory GM of the Year finalist for the first time.
Now he inherits a Nashville club that finished four points back of a Western Conference wild-card spot at 38-34-10 and is staring down a busy stretch. The Scouting Combine runs through Saturday in Buffalo, the Draft starts there June 26, and free agency opens July 1.
He has a few weeks to figure out who’s staying and who isn’t.
