Predators Hire Chris MacFarland as President and General Manager

In a stunning intradivisional front-office coup, Nashville Predators Chairman and Majority Owner Bill Haslam announced today that the club has officially hired Chris MacFarland as the team's new President of Hockey Operations and General Manager.

MacFarland, 56, joins the Predators after a highly successful 11-year tenure with the Colorado Avalanche. He fills the lone remaining vacancy atop an NHL front office, stepping into a dual role that grants him the full autonomy over hockey decisions he lacked in Denver.

“We could not be more pleased that Chris has elected to join the Predators organization and lead our hockey operations group,” Haslam said. “We conducted an exhaustive search and were able to meet with several very qualified and impressive candidates, but all along, we were hopeful to interview Chris. He turned out to be a perfect fit for us – just what we were looking for to lead our organization moving forward.

“I’d like to thank the Colorado Avalanche, the Kroenke family and Joe Sakic for giving Chris permission to talk with us and for supporting his desire to make this move. I’d also like to thank the members of our search committee, those who expressed interest in joining the Predators in this role, and especially Barry Trotz for his work in positioning Chris for success. We appreciate everyone’s time and effort in this endeavor.”

MacFarland took over a strong Colorado Avalanche team coming off a Stanley Cup championship, and he made several bold choices that have kept the team among the NHL’s elite.

In January 2025, he traded Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Martin Necas, Jack Drury and draft picks. Later that spring, he acquired Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders at the deadline, and he secured a pair of top-six forwards for the long haul by working out extensions with both Necas and Nelson.