The Nashville Predators announced the hiring of Chris MacFarland as their president of hockey operations and general manager on Tuesday.
MacFarland, 56, previously served as the general manager of the Colorado Avalanche for the past four years.
He replaces Barry Trotz, who will move to an advisory role within the Predators after announcing in February his intention to retire as GM once his successor was found.
“We could not be more pleased that Chris has elected to join the Predators organization and lead our hockey operations group,” Predators majority owner Bill 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.”
MacFarland becomes the third general manager in Predators history and the second to hold the president of hockey operations title. He joins Nashville after spending the previous 11 seasons with the Avalanche.
“My wife Chandra and I, together with our children, are grateful to Bill and Crissy Haslam and the entire Nashville Predators family for this opportunity,” MacFarland said. “We also thank everyone at the Avalanche, including (team president) Joe Sakic and the Kroenke family, for their support in pursuing this position with the Predators; I believe Nashville will be a great fit for me.
“I know this is a proud organization with a solid track record of putting together teams that the fans of Smashville support wholeheartedly. My goal here is to build a winner, working with Bill Haslam, (team CEO) Sean Henry and our hockey operations staff and players to put a team on the ice that will compete for the Stanley Cup. I am excited about our future.”
Sakic will return to holding general manager duties for “the foreseeable future,” the Avalanche announced.
“We would like to thank Chris for all he did for the Avalanche organization,” said Josh Kroenke, vice chairman of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.
“Chris was instrumental in our success over the last decade and a key part of our 2022 Stanley Cup championship. This was an opportunity for him to take on a bigger role with the Predators while being closer to his family. We wish him and his family all the best in Nashville.”
