After a four-month search, the Nashville Predators have found Barry Trotz’s replacement, naming Chris MacFarland president of hockey operations and general manager on June 2.
MacFarland spent the past 11 seasons with the Colorado Avalanche, working as general manager since the 2022-23 season. Since he joined them in 2015, they have won the Presidents’ Trophy twice (2021, 2026); made the playoffs in nine straight seasons (2018-2026); made the Western Conference finals twice (2022, 2026); and won the Stanley Cup (2022).
MacFarland’s résumé — which includes being named a finalist for the 2026 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award — should placate a fan base growing concerned that the Predators were too patient in their search. To that point, majority owner Bill Haslam said in a news release that MacFarland was in their sights the whole time.
“All along, we were hopeful to interview Chris (MacFarland),” Haslam said. “He turned out to be a perfect fit for us, just what we were looking for to lead our organization moving forward.”
But what makes MacFarland a perfect fit for Nashville?
Chris MacFarland’s success with Colorado Avalanche
MacFarland’s time with Colorado began on May 21, 2015, when he was hired as assistant general manager to then-GM Joe Sakic.
At the time, the Avalanche were a bottom-dweller in the Central Division. They finished seventh in the division in 2014-15, sixth in 2015-16, and dropped to last place in the NHL in 2016-17.
That season was rock-bottom for Colorado, but it fueled a meteoric rise to the top of the league, with MacFarland a key contributor.
With Nathan MacKinnon, drafted No. 1 overall in 2013, blooming into a superstar, the Avalanche added forward Mikko Rantanen in 2015 (No. 10 overall), then defenseman Cale Makar in 2017 (No. 4 overall). MacFarland was there for both picks, as well as for depth additions A.J. Greer (2015), Tyson Jost (2016), Conor Timmins (2017) and Alex Newhook (2019).
Draft success led to on-ice success, which led to trades to bolster the roster. In the years leading to their Stanley Cup run, the Avalanche added several key players who contributed heavily to their Cup win in 2022, including:
- J.T. Compher from Buffalo for Ryan O’Reilly, Jamie McGinn (June 2015)
- Samuel Girard from Ottawa/Nashville for Matt Duchene, sending Kyle Turris to Nashville (November 2017)
- Nazem Kadri from Toronto for Tyson Barrie, Alex Kerfoot, 2020 sixth-round pick (July 2019)
- Devon Toews from New York Islanders for 2021 second-round pick, 2022 second-round pick (October 2020)
- Josh Manson from Anaheim for Drew Helleson, 2023 second-round pick (March 2022)
- Artturi Lehkonen from Montreal for Justin Barron, 2024 second-round pick (March 2022)
After being named GM in 2022, MacFarland continued Sakic’s work in the trade market, acquiring Martin Necas from Carolina and Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders in 2025. He also added Nicolas Roy and Kadri (for the second time) ahead of the Avalanche’s 2026 playoff run.
In particular, the Necas trade was tidy work to sidestep a contract headache with star winger Rantanen. After it became clear Rantanen would not sign long-term in Colorado, MacFarland added Necas in January 2025, then signed him to an eight-year, $92 million deal. Necas had 100 points (38 goals, 62 assists) in his first year of the deal.
It makes you wonder if MacFarland, who watched Sakic avoid a similar headache with Duchene in 2017, was taking notes.
On that point, it’s fair to ask how much of Colorado’s impressive roster was MacFarland’s work and how much was Sakic’s. For the entirety of MacFarland’s 11 seasons in Colorado, Sakic presided over him, both as general manager and as president of hockey operations. When Sakic signed Makar to a six-year deal in 2021, did MacFarland help? When MacFarland signed MacKinnon to an eight-year deal in 2022, did Sakic help?
According to the Avalanche, the two worked nearly in tandem. MacFarland “worked closely with Joe Sakic regarding all hockey-related matters,” according to the team website, and MacFarland’s bio frequently matches many of Sakic’s accomplishments with his own (and vice versa).
But whether MacFarland is the mastermind or merely Sakic’s stand-in, the Predators are getting an executive with proven experience turning a loser into a winner. As he arrives in Nashville, with a hockey team not much better than the Avalanche were in 2015, the Predators are hoping he can do it again.
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Chris MacFarland could be ‘perfect fit’ for Nashville Predators