Nashville Predators chairman Bill Haslam had just completed a coup Tuesday, poaching the general manager of a division rival.
He was just waiting for the new leader of his hockey operations department to inform his former coworkers before the news broke. When Haslam called Chris MacFarland, the former Colorado Avalanche general manager told his new boss he needed a minute to compose himself, and he’d call back.
It wouldn’t be the last time MacFarland would get emotional about leaving his previous post.
The Predators introduced MacFarland as the club’s new president of hockey operations and general manager on Wednesday morning. He spent the past 11 seasons with the Avs, helping the club win the Stanley Cup in 2022 and becoming one of three finalists for the Jim Gregory NHL GM of the Year Award in 2026 after leading Colorado to its best-ever regular season in franchise history.
MacFarland spent several minutes thanking numerous members of the Avs organization during his opening remarks, and at times it was a struggle for him.
“It was going to take a hell of an opportunity and situation to get me to think about leaving Colorado,” MacFarland said. “I loved everything about it. The players and the team there, I was very attached. Still am, to a degree, I’m not going to lie. I wish them the best.”
The Predators announced Barry Trotz would step down as GM and transition into an advisory role in early February. Haslam and his ownership group, which includes former Alabama football coach Nick Saban, spent months conducting their search, but in recent days it became clear that Nashville was waiting for the chance to speak with at least one person whose team was still playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Haslam received permission to speak with MacFarland, who had one more year left on his contract with the Avalanche, shortly after Vegas swept Colorado out of the Western Conference Final, and the process went from a slow crawl to hyperspeed.
“When we finally could talk to Chris, we immediately took every advantage to jump in there quick with a conversation,” Haslam said. “It wasn’t a given thing that he would like us, or that the Avs would say you can talk to him. So I want to start by saying I’m really appreciative to the Avs to, I think, doing the right thing for somebody that they had a great appreciation for.
“And I’ll say up front, they didn’t let him go easily. This was a … they were very eager to keep Chris there, understandably.”
An Avalanche source told the Denver Post that the franchise made multiple offers to MacFarland in hopes of retaining him. Multiple league sources said the Predators’ offer was a significant one, beyond just the promotion to president of hockey ops.
Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean reported MacFarland’s contract with Nashville is for six years. MacFarland confirmed that the process was swift on his end.
“Bill and I had a long chat yesterday,” MacFarland said. “When you get word that a team has reached out … I had a contract and was super happy there, but it was a whirlwind for sure.”
MacFarland inherits what he called a “very attractive” situation, but with some caveats. The Predators failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, though ex-Avalanche goaltender Justus Annunen — whom MacFarland traded to Nashville in November 2024 for Scott Wedgewood — led a late-season surge that kept the club in contention for the second wild-card spot.
Nashville has veteran players with excellent resumes — Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, Juuse Saros, Steven Stamkos — but hasn’t won a playoff round since defeating the Avs in 2018. Why MacFarland called it a very attractive situation is the collection of future assets.
The Predators have one of the best prospect pools in the NHL, led by Brady Martin, the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NHL draft. They also have a whopping 33 selections in the next three drafts, including No. 10 overall later this month and two of Colorado’s 2027 picks — a third-rounder from the Juuso Parssinen trade and a fifth from the Nick Blankenburg deal.
“I asked Mr. Haslam, is the goal here to make the playoffs, make a wild card, feel good about that and high-five each other, or is the goal here to build a team that can compete and try to bring a Stanley Cup to Broadway?” MacFarland said. “He didn’t hesitate. He said the goal here is to try and win. Thatap really, quite honest, all I needed to hear. The city speaks for itself. The organization speaks for itself. I’ve come here as a visiting GM and scout for 25 years.
“When he answered that, that got me really excited. … That answer to me was everything.”
