- Nashville hired Vukie Mpofu as assistant general manager on Tuesday
- Mpofu spent the last three seasons running hockey operations and legal affairs in Pittsburgh under Kyle Dubas
- Read below for how the former WHL forward turned lawyer fits Nashville’s made-over front office
Vukie Mpofu is headed to Smashville.
The Nashville Predators hired Mpofu as assistant general manager on Tuesday, adding one of the more respected young executives in the game to Chris MacFarland’s remade management group.
Here’s the announcement from the team:
Mpofu spent the last three seasons as Pittsburgh’s director of hockey operations and legal affairs, working directly under Kyle Dubas. He handled contract talks, salary cap and CBA compliance, and helped run the Penguins’ research and development department.
Before Pittsburgh, he spent two seasons with the Los Angeles Kings as their manager of hockey operations and legal affairs. He broke into the league with Vegas as a legal affairs intern in 2020-21.
His path to an NHL front office is not a common one. Mpofu grew up in Saskatoon and played parts of two seasons with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels, putting up 15 points in 69 games. He went on to earn a law degree from UCLA, specializing in media, entertainment, technology and sports law.
He walks into a front office that barely resembles last season’s. Nashville installed MacFarland as general manager, brought in Hall of Fame defenseman Rob Blake as executive vice president of hockey operations, and added Jamie Langenbrunner as a special assistant. Longtime assistant GM Brian Poile left after nearly 16 years.
MacFarland is building his group from the ground up, and Mpofu’s cap and contract background gives Nashville another sharp negotiator as it reshapes the roster.
