Nashville, Tenn. (July 7, 2026) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager Chris MacFarland announced today that Vukie Mpofu has been hired as Assistant General Manager. Mpofu will work alongside MacFarland in all facets of the hockey operations department, including player acquisition strategy; professional and amateur scouting; contract negotiations; salary cap and CBA compliance; roster and personnel decisions; and several other key areas of responsibility.
“We are very pleased that Vukie has elected to join the Predators hockey operations staff as Assistant General Manager,” MacFarland said. “He is one of the great young minds in the game today, and we are confident he’ll be a great fit with the rest of our management team as we look to build a winning franchise in Nashville.
“We would also like to thank Kyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins organization for working with us in our pursuit of Vukie for this important role within our organization.”
Mpofu, 30, joins the Predators after spending the previous three seasons as Director of Hockey Operations and Legal Affairs for the Pittsburgh Penguins, working under the team’s President of Hockey Operations/General Manager Kyle Dubas. With the Penguins – who qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this past season – he held an array of responsibilities, including overseeing player contract negotiations, CBA and salary cap compliance and working closely alongside the organization’s hockey research and development department.
"My wife and I are thrilled to join the Predators organization, and I want to thank Chris MacFarland for his trust and belief in me,” Mpofu said. “The Predators are a world-class franchise with a promising future, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to help shape the next chapter here in Nashville. I look forward to working alongside two of the game's best leaders in Chris and Rob Blake, and thank Mr. Haslam for entrusting me to be part of the management team they are assembling."
Prior to his tenure in Pittsburgh, Mpofu served as Manager of Hockey Operations and Legal Affairs in Los Angeles from 2021-23, where he worked for then-Kings GM and current Predators Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Rob Blake. Mpofu also spent the 2020-21 season as a Hockey Legal Affairs Intern for the Vegas Golden Knights; was a legal intern with Wasserman, now known as The Team, in 2021; and was a member of the UCLA Athletic Department’s compliance office from 2019-20.
Born in the United Arab Emirates before growing up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Mpofu played 69 games for the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels from 2012-14 and twice participated in the Telus Cup (2012 and 2013) with the Saskatoon Contacts of the SMAAHL. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Saskatchewan and received his Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law with a specialization in Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law.
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