Over the next few weeks, we’ll learn plenty about Chris MacFarland and his plans for the Nashville Predators.
Named President of Hockey Operations and General Manager on Tuesday after joining the Preds from his previous post as GM of the Colorado Avalanche, MacFarland has plenty of work ahead of him.
The 2026 NHL Draft - where the Predators are currently set to pick 10th overall - comes June 26 and 27 in Buffalo, and the opening of the NHL Free Agency period starts just days after on July 1.
Combine those critical dates with the vast array of acclimation that is set to come with his new franchise - including simply learning the names of all his hockey operations staff, and also how to navigate the stairwells and corridors of Bridgestone Arena - and, well, the to-do list is long.
But if anyone can handle those tasks, it’s MacFarland. He’s experienced just about every high and low possible in the NHL during the last quarter century, and there’s seemingly nothing he hasn’t seen in this game that provides a never-ending challenge even for the very best.
He spent 15 seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets prior to the last 11 campaigns with Colorado, including a Stanley Cup win in 2022 with the Avs and a nomination for the Jim Gregory Award as the NHL’s top GM this year.
Now, he’s intent on bringing that success to Nashville and a Predators team that was oh so close to the ultimate prize in 2017 but has yet to capture a championship in its history.
At his introductory press conference on Wednesday, MacFarland shared plenty about his past, his excitement for the move to the Music City and how he might set out to improve his new organization.
There wasn’t much in the way of specifics in that presser - and understandably so. Indeed, there will be lots to glean from MacFarland in the near future, but there was still plenty to discuss following the occasion.
Here are five things we learned about MacFarland - and the process to bring him to Nashville.
Humble & Kind
Everyone can see that MacFarland's resume is impressive. Preds Chairman and Majority Owner Bill Haslam reiterated that fact as he introduced his new GM to the Nashville media, but what Haslam was equally impressed with was not just McFarland the hockey executive, but MacFarland the person.
“Chris is somebody who we talked about being comfortable in your own skin,” Haslam said. “That’s who Chris is. He is who he is. He has the self-confidence, combined with humility, to be an extraordinary leader. And that's, in addition to his resume, why we picked him… He’s got a terrific family, and his heart is with his family as well. So, he is going to fit perfectly in Smashville, and you all are going to come to appreciate him like I have over the last period.”
MacFarland affirmed that praise when not only becoming emotional discussing all those in his past who helped get him to this point - particularly those in Colorado like Joe Sakic - but also his family.
Seated in the front row of the press conference Wednesday were two of his four children - Jake and Cara - as well as his wife, Chan.
“You know you're the reason I get to do what I love to do,” MacFarland said while looking at his better half. “I'm a general manager in hockey, but my wife is the general manager of our family. She's the marketing person, the medical director, the team services person… She’s raised four kids, and she's done an amazing job, and I'm super proud of her.”
Building Blocks
While MacFarland didn’t get into many specifics on Wednesday, he did allude to how he may work to improve the Preds in the near future - and also how Predators players will help to tell the story.
From an intriguing prospect pool to established NHL veterans, MacFarland has plenty to evaluate, and he’s looking forward to the challenge.
“I feel like I have a good handle on the team and the prospect pool, which is very attractive,” MacFarland said. “It is super attractive, but prospects have to be developed, and they all come at different times. Some need time to cook, some pop quick and become staples of the franchise… They’ll tell us when they're ready type of thing. I'm going to need time to poke around under the hood here and to truly get a feel for that - and some of it might not come until the fall and rookie camp and training camp and the start of the season. I always say the players will tell us how the season starts, where we're at.
“We didn't make the playoffs this year, but there's turnover every single year. There is the danger of that we’re in the mushy middle. So, those are all kinds of things that we're going to chat about internally, and we'll figure it out. But there's lots of good players here. There's lots of good prospects and there's picks that will either be used to continue to build the prospect pool here in the right age bracket, in my opinion, or be used to acquire a certain level of assets. So, I've got a lot of things to kind of work through here between now and the Draft and getting to know internal staff and the infrastructure here, which I'm super excited about. I know there's good people here, and I really look forward to getting to know them. That's kind of step one.”
The Ultimate Title
Part of the allure to move from Colorado to Nashville for MacFarland was the chance to become not only the general manager of the Predators, but also the president of hockey operations.
After spending the past four seasons as general manager with the Avalanche, MacFarland is accustomed to that part of the gig. But the additional title is something he’s more than ready to embrace.
As is the case with any successful person in business and in life, MacFarland doesn’t plan on becoming complacent. Instead, he intends on growing and learning every single day in a dream role that has now become reality.
“I'll continue to be me,” MacFarland said. “I know what I am, what I'm not, and I'll be collaborative. I’ll want good [assistant general managers] and good analytics people and scouts, because that's the lifeblood of the organization. As far as the president type of role, I think my concerns have been on ice and how do we get better on the ice and strategy and team building. Now, it’s a little bit of looking forward to learning, whether it's off-ice improvements or the [soon-to-be renovated and upgraded] practice facility, which I'm super excited to hear about, and getting to learn a little bit more about that stuff. I will talk to some of the guys around the League that have the at president title…and I’ll pick their brain.
“I’m going to need to learn a little bit with that, but I think at the end of the day, I'm just looking to build relationships with the staff on the hockey side and the business side and the community, and really our fans and the Predators fans here so that we can tell our narrative honestly and build trust… I hope that the mark of this organization will be that we're with you, we're Predators fans, we're along for the ride, we're along for the journey, because we love hockey.”
Coach Saban’s Impact
When he became part of the Predators ownership group last December, legendary college football coach Nick Saban made it clear he wasn’t in this just for fun.
Instead, the seven-time NCAA National Champion stated he’d be more than willing to contribute to the success of the Preds.
Just two months later, when now-former Predators General Manager Barry Trotz announced his retirement plans with the search for a new GM beginning immediately, Saban was named to the search committee.
On Wednesday, Haslam and Preds CEO Sean Henry shared some insight into just how Saban impacted the process that ultimately brought MacFarland to Nashville.
“We all know he’s a winner - biggest winner we all know - but the presence that he has and the way he evaluates things, it changed the entire interview process for us,” Henry said of Saban. “There were times we were looking at him saying, ‘Oh, I wish I asked that,' or, ‘I wish I saw it that way.’ But the other is the credibility that he gives you when he reaches out to Chris, and they talk, it just changes everything that you can do or would do. But I think it made the entire committee a little bit better and how we approached it, how we evaluate it. The amazing thing after each interview was his process as he analyzed what he heard, why he heard it, what he thought was said - saying it's impressive is such a slight to him; it was incredible.”
“Nick believes in process in a big way, and so he brought that same mindset, A, to our process of hiring somebody, and B, as he was questioning people, and he was involved with everybody we talked to,” Haslam said. “You could see him drilling down, ‘OK, then what?’ He doesn't ever take the easy first answer. It's like ask the next question and then the next one that sometimes you don't want them to ask, but he’d ask that, so [he was] incredible. Sean nailed it, he was incredibly helpful and really thankful that he was willing to jump in and be vitally involved in the process.”
Fang Fingersss
The phrase - and gesture - of Fang Fingers is as synonymous with a Predators game as just about any other ritual in Nashville.
And while MacFarland was certainly focused on the games he was watching inside Bridgestone Arena during his trips to town over the past two-plus decades, the tradition certainly got his attention - and not always in a good way.
Now, that’s all about to change.
“I'm going to have to get used to this Fang Fingers thing,” MacFarland laughed. “It was easier as a scout, to be honest, because you're not invested emotionally in the game. But when you come in here with the Avs or the Blue Jackets, that thing drove me nuts because it usually meant something bad might be happening with the likes of [former Preds Captain] Shea Weber or [former defenseman] [P.K.] Subban and some of those guys.
“But I’m super excited to get to work.”
