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Predators poach Chris MacFarland from Avalanche to lead hockey operations
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- Predators poach Chris MacFarland from Avalanche to lead hockey operations
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It was a stellar year for the Colorado Avalanche , winning the Presidents' Trophy as the top regular-season team in the NHL. While the season ended at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Finals, general manager Chris MacFarland is a nominee for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award .
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Earlier on Tuesday, it was first reported that the Nashville Predators were given permission to speak with MacFarland. Then, it came out that he had met with Predators owner Bill Haslam, according to hockey insider Elliotte Friedman.
"More: according to several sources, MacFarland met face-to-face last night with owner Bill Haslam and the goal is for the Predators to close this quickly. They know they will have to hand the keys to MacFarland and are prepared to do it. Stay tuned," Friedman posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Now, the deal has crossed the finish line, according to a release from the team on X.
MacFarland will be replacing Barry Trotz, who is retiring from the Predators . He becomes the third GM in Predators history and the second to hold the title of president of hockey operations .
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"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."
MacFarland began his career as an executive prior to the 1999-2000 campaign, leaving his work with the NHL and NHL projections to join the Columbus Blue Jackets organization. He would serve with the franchise for 16 years, spending time in multiple roles, including assistant to the General Manager and General Manager of the Springfield Falcons.
The executive would be hired by the Avalanche at the end of the 2014-15 campaign, serving as an assistant to Joe Sakic. He helped rebuild the team into winning the Presidents' Trophy in 2020-21 and the Stanley Cup the next season. Ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, he was promoted to the GM role, with Sakic becoming the president of hockey operations.
Meanwhile, Sakic will return to the GM role for the Avalanche in the meantime. The Avs thanked MacFarland for his service before announcing Sakic's move , according to Greg Wyshynski of ESPN.
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"(Avalanche President) Joe Sakic will resume the General Manager duties for the foreseeable future, including through this month's draft and the start of the league year. In Joe's previous stint as GM, he helped build the current roster and led us to the 2022 Stanley Cup. We are confident in Joe's leadership and that we will continue to build upon our recent success as we seek to bring another Cup back to Colorado," the statement read.
MacFarland now turns his focus to some key upcoming dates, including the NHL Draft on June 26 and 27, and the start of free agency on July 1.
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