June 3, 2026 - Preds Introduce Chris MacFarland as the President of Hockey Operations & General Manager
Coverage
Press Conference
Podcast
MacFarland joins the Predators organization after spending the previous 11 seasons with the Colorado Avalanche, including the past four as general manager. He worked with Sakic, the Avalanche’s president of hockey operations and Hockey Hall of Famer, to build the 2022 Stanley Cup championship team; Colorado has also made the playoffs in nine straight campaigns – tied for the longest active streak in the NHL – reaching the Western Conference Final this postseason. During his four-season tenure as Avalanche GM, which began in July 2022, Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2025-26, earned two Central Division titles, led the NHL in wins (205), scored the second-most goals per game (3.50) and allowed the fourth-fewest goals-against per game (2.75).
MacFarland earned his first career nod as a finalist for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award on May 12 after assembling an Avalanche squad that, in 2025-26, led the NHL in points with a franchise-record 121 (55-16-11 record) and reached the Western Conference Final. Building around a core featuring 2024 Hart Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon and two-time Norris Trophy recipient Cale Makar, he signed veteran defenseman Brent Burns in the offseason and inked center Brock Nelson to a three-year contract after acquiring him at the trade deadline the previous campaign. MacFarland then added to his roster, landing forwards Nazem Kadri and Nicolas Roy and defensemen Brett Kulak and Nick Blankenburg prior to the 2026 trade deadline. Consistently seeking to add to the organization’s depth at all positions, the 2025-26 version of the Avalanche saw 15 different players record at least 20 points – tied for the most among all NHL teams – and 11 different skaters score at least 10 goals.
MacFarland was initially hired by Colorado as an assistant general manager under Sakic in May 2015 and played a pivotal role in transforming the franchise into a perennial Stanley Cup contender over the past 11 years. After finishing last in the NHL in 2016-17, he helped guide Colorado to a Presidents’ Trophy in 2020-21 and the Stanley Cup the following season. The Avalanche used the draft to surround MacKinnon and captain Gabriel Landeskog with additional NHL All-Stars such as Mikko Rantanen (10th overall in 2015) and Makar (fourth overall in 2017) and blueliner Bowen Byram (fourth overall in 2019). MacFarland was part of Sakic’s management group that landed forward Artturi Lehkonen and defenseman Devon Toews in trades and signed forward Valeri Nichushkin in free agency; all three won the Cup in 2022 on a roster that featured 20 players skate in postseason games after being acquired with MacFarland in the organization.
As general manager of the Avalanche, MacFarland was aggressive in the trade market, further bolstering his team’s roster while also leading contract negotiations with several of the franchise’s cornerstone players. In addition to acquiring Nelson, Kadri and goaltenders Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood, MacFarland also executed one of the largest trades in recent NHL history, adding Martin Necas and Jack Drury from Carolina in exchange for Rantanen, among other pieces, in January 2025. He also set Colorado up for long-term success by signing MacKinnon, Toews, Necas, Nelson, Nichushkin, Lehkonen and Blackwood – along with others on the Avalanche roster – to significant multi-year contracts while GM.
Prior to his time in Colorado, MacFarland spent 16 years (1999-15) in the Columbus Blue Jackets’ hockey operations department, working his way from manager of hockey operations to assistant general manager.
The Nanuet, N.Y., native played collegiate hockey at Pace University, where he earned a business degree in 1992 and graduated from its law school in 1998. His stops prior to joining the Blue Jackets included a spell as an intern for the NHL’s office in New York and with NHL Productions. He additionally serves on the USA Hockey Men’s National Team Advisory Group alongside several other American-born NHL general managers.