Losing a country singer to Nashville is understandable.
A hockey general manager? Unacceptable.
When conducting an audit on the Avalanche’s dizzying collapse, we figured the Kroenke ownership group would do exactly what the team needed.
Instead, Stan and Josh Kroenke did just the opposite.
A week after the Golden Knights turned the Avs’ season to dust, Colorado lost Chris MacFarland, outbid by Nashville.
Not Montreal. Or Boston. But a division rival.
MacFarland did not have a wandering eye, and was not looking to leave. He broke down when breaking the news to his former coworkers. He cried at his introductory press conference with the Predators, struggling to come to grips with leaving a Colorado organization where he worked and excelled for 11 years.
Losing MacFarland is not a win for the Avs, despite what fans insisted on my social media timelines last week.
That was an appropriate response by Rockies fans when the Rockies mercifully moved on from futile general manager Bill Geivett and insufferable team president Greg Feasel.
MacFarland helped the Avs win the Stanley Cup in 2022. He is one of three finalists for the Jim Gregory NHL GM of the Year award this season. If he wins this summer, he will accept the trophy as a member of another organization.
And the Avs are better for this? Really?
I understand the love for president and resident legend Joe Sakic, who takes over in the interim through the draft and summer months. He served as the GM when the Avs claimed their last championship. But there is a reason he handed over the reins to MacFarland that next season.
McFarland was ready. And while he had misses like every GM, he was really good at his job. Nashville recognized this. The Predators went all in, throwing a bunch of money at MacFarland and a longer title for his business card — president of hockey operations.
He got the position because of his . Yes, that Nick Saban.
MacFarland is a grinder, a hockey lifer, a man who could watch film and scout until his eyes bleed. His success reflects his dedication to the process. Saban recognized this.
And the Avs let him out of the building.
If you want to stand on your porch or scream that it was all about the promotion to president, have at it. But let’s acknowledge that the Avs tried to keep MacFarland.
That makes his departure look worse.
It also raises a few questions. Are you going to tell me that they could not make MacFarland vice president, and provide him a big raise and a transition plan to succeed Sakic?
Given how emotional MacFarland was, given his family’s connection to the community, I think it would have been hard for him to say no. Maybe he still leaves.
But why not make it as difficult as possible given that the Avs are clearly, regardless of how disappointing the Las Vegas series was, in a championship window?
Which brings us to another issue.
The Avs did right by MacFarland in granting him permission to interview, unlike the petty and classless Golden Knights, who continue to hold former coach Bruce Cassidy hostage.
However, as the Predators’ pursuit of MacFarland picked up steam, Stan and Josh Kroenke were at Selhurst Park across the pond carrying the English Premier League championship trophy to Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta. Given how suspiciously and viciously the team’s fans reacted to their ownership through the years, the Kroenkes deserved this snapshot.
But who was manning the phones back at the home office?
As the Predators were making a final push for MacFarland, the Los Angeles Rams were acquiring Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett from the Browns, a seismic move that conjures images of Reggie White signing with the Packers. With the Super Bowl at their SoFi Stadium, the Kroenkes are all in with the Rams.
But are they spread too thin?
Nobody can question their success as owners. They have delivered championships in basketball, hockey and soccer. Forbes recently placed the value of KSE’s six-team sports empire at $21.7 billion.
And yet that does not make them immune from criticism.
They can be great and make mistakes. Letting MacFarland go is one of them.
Were the Kroenkes too busy, too distracted, too ambivalent?
They have Sakic as the safety net, so everyone keeps saying it is no big deal. But Sakic left the GM role by choice. He wanted to move upstairs, unburdened by the exhaustive duties.
And let’s be clear: Sakic did not succeed in a vacuum. His best days as a GM were with MacFarland as his right-hand man.
It just doesn’t sit right. The Avs are hockey royalty. They are the standard of excellence in our city with 22 playoff berths and three parades in 31 years.
With another championship in reach, the timing of MacFarland’s exit stinks.
We will find out more about this issue in the future, but Sakic filling the void made any debate over coach Jared Bednar’s future moot. Sakic was not firing Bednar even if his style has been exposed as ineffective in the playoffs against defensive, possession-oriented teams like Dallas and Las Vegas.
KSE’s strongest argument against finding a way to keep MacFarland is that the Kroenkes have navigated this territory before.
Former Nuggets GM Tim Connelly left for Minnesota under similar circumstances in 2022, accepting a five-year, $40 million package with equity in the team. Calvin Booth, if only briefly, showed acumen, making critical moves to help the Nuggets win their only NBA championship in 2023 before his sour relationship with coach Michael Malone led to both their firings in 2025.
So, give the Kroenkes the benefit of the doubt if you want. They don’t like paying top dollar for executives. I get it.
But watching them celebrate Arsenal, seeing them land Garrett, it sure feels like they squandered a chance to have a moment like this with the Avs by losing MacFarland.
