MacFarland Talks Player Acquisitions, Prospect Pool, Offseason Strategy as Free Agency Opens

Chris MacFarland has gotten a lot done in just a few weeks’ time - and he may not be quite finished yet. 

Nashville’s new President of Hockey Operations and General Manager was busy again on Wednesday as the start of the NHL’s Free Agency signing period began, and MacFarland’s first deal came in the form of a trade before the cycle even opened. 

As the day started, the Predators acquired forward Mavrik Bourque and defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin from the Dallas Stars in exchange for Nashville’s second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft and Vegas’ third-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft.

Bourque - who MacFarland is working to sign to a new contract with his restricted free agent status - had a breakout season with the Stars in the previous campaign. The 24-year-old recorded career highs in goals (20), assists (21) and points (41) with Dallas while adding 79 hits and 147 shots in 82 games.

Now, the Preds are looking forward to adding that offensive prowess to their lineup this fall. 

“We've talked about it for us as an attractive-aged player, that's a proven player in this League at 24 years old, and we believe he can play and be a good player in the middle of the ice - and I think that was probably the biggest draw for us,” MacFarland said of Bourque. “He's a smart, heady hockey player - that’s what he is. He's a good, two-way guy, we think the arrow is still pointing up, and we intend to give him every shot at playing in the middle. When those opportunities present themselves [to acquire a player like Bourque], they’re unique…and we were able to get that over the finish line this morning.”

As the day progressed, MacFarland and the Preds added veteran forward Alexander Kerfoot on a two-year, $7 million contract, followed by a pair of two-way deals for defensemen Jack Ahcan and Hunter Skinner. 

Those transactions came after a trade on Monday that saw Nashville acquire forward Nils Hoglander from Vancouver and a deal Saturday to add forward Adam Edstrom from the Rangers during last weekend’s NHL Draft. 

Combine those acquisitions with separate trades to acquire forwards Jack Drury and Ross Colton in recent weeks from Colorado, and the Predators find themselves with a number of forwards on the roster who played NHL games last season, especially up the middle of the ice. 

So, could those recent additions bring about the need for further dealing in the days and weeks ahead? 

“Maybe,” MacFarland said on the topic. “Yeah, maybe. In all seriousness…if we can improve the team, we're going to try to do it. I think the backend is something that we want to find a little bit more puck skill, a little more transition as part of our game. It's not easy to do, right? As you can see, like free agency, there weren't a lot of those defensemen available. There's a reason for that. Those are the hard-to-get assets, really hard, right? Centers, top-two-line players, and I think we're in that age now where the [salary] cap is going up and teams aren't going to be as squeezed to get their own guys done.

“But it's going to require some creativity, it's going to require threading the needle at times, and it may require some tough decisions or moving some players that maybe you wouldn't normally look to move in order to improve in key areas of the ice. I think defending in the middle of the ice is sort of like up the middle in baseball. You’ve got to be strong in those positions, and for us, we don't feel we're strong enough yet in those areas.”

As MacFarland may look for more immediate help in that regard, there is plenty of hope for the future, too. 

In the midst of this week’s movement, MacFarland has also spent plenty of time at Predators Development Camp to get a look at Nashville’s impressive young prospect pool, including the likes of recent first-round picks Egor Surin, Brady Martin, Cameron Reid, Ryker Lee, Wyatt Cullen and Tommy Bleyl. 

Each of those players is on their own path, and while MacFarland knows they all still may need more time to marinate before they’re ready for consistent NHL work, there’s reason for optimism when it comes to the pipeline. 

“What I get excited about, and I think our staff is, we're going to be looking forward to watching these guys play, whether it's in Milwaukee or college or wherever it may be, and really doing that exercise of seeing are they ready to turn pro,” MacFarland said. “That's the first step, and then the next step in the likely path to Nashville is through Milwaukee, and then how they do there. And sometimes it's a little quicker than others, and sometimes it takes a few years, and that's OK. That's part of the journey and part of the process.

“But the talent level in the system here is something to be very, very excited about. I think we're just on the cusp of some of those players turning pro, and there's a lot more that are going to be coming over the next few years. So, that's something that hopefully every Nashville Predator fan can be excited about, and not only be here at Bridgestone [Arena] supporting the Preds, but following the guys in Milwaukee, and following these prospects wherever they may be, because at some point here they're going to be ripping through here wearing our colors, and that's super exciting for us.”

That time will come soon enough, and when a player “is ready to have a jersey in our lineup,” as MacFarland stated, “he’ll have one.” 

“It won't matter whether they're 18, 19 or 31,” MacFarland said. “We’re not going to go into this and say, ‘This player has a roster spot.’ Things have to be earned here. The NHL is the winning business. The AHL is hopefully going to be part of the winning business, because we believe that culturally, but the AHL is where your players are going to get good ice time and develop and grow, and then their play will tell us, we believe, when they’re ready to have a roster spot in the NHL.

“We want to surround our young NHL players with character builders, guys that have seen winning, touched winning, that know what it looks like, and can teach these young guys what goes into that on and off the ice. I think some of the players that we've added, like Jack Drury and Mavrik Bourque and Ross Colton, they've seen what winning looks like, and they can certainly impart some things to our young guys, and that's what we want them to do… We want them to kick the door down and take a National Hockey League job. It’s not given. You’ve got to earn it.” 

With the Draft complete and free agency having opened, the heart of the NHL offseason is already beginning to wind down, but there’s still more to accomplish. 

MacFarland is pleased with the body of work thus far, and the GM says the Preds feel good about the players - and people - they’ve been able to add to change a bit of the culture and bring competitiveness on the ice every night. 

And while MacFarland knows how good the rest of the Central Division can be, he’s not looking left and right. Instead, there’s only one team he’s worried about - and as the summer continues, he’s going to keep working to make his organization the best it can be. 

“We're just going to focus on us,” MacFarland said. “We're going to focus on how we can get better, even if it's a little bit better with each move we make, with each week of the season that goes by. If we can get a little bit better and start building scar tissue in terms of the hill we've got to climb - and we do, we have a hill to climb - but it’s a tough League, and it's a very tough division. But we're going to do our best to develop the prospects that we’ve got. We've got some very, very good young players. We drafted a bunch of good players, but they’re going to, for the most part, going to need time to cook, and that’s OK. While they’re cooking, we're going to try to find some competitive guys that can still find a way to win hockey games.”