Predators hire Chris MacFarland from Avalanche to become president of hockey operations/GM

DENVER (AP) — The Nashville Predators are bringing in Chris MacFarland of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche to serve as their president of hockey operations/general manager.

The Predators announced the hiring of MacFarland on Tuesday. He takes over for Barry Trotz, who will step into an advisory role with the organization after announcing earlier this season that he was retiring from the GM role.

MacFarland finished his fourth season as general manager of the Avalanche, where the team he helped assemble turned in the NHL’s best record before being swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final. MacFarland is a finalist for general manager of the year, along with Minnesota’s Bill Guerin and Anaheim’s Pat Verbeek.

The 56-year-old MacFarland spent 11 seasons with the Avalanche, learning under the direction of current team president and Hall of Famer Joe Sakic. MacFarland was promoted to GM soon after the Avalanche won the 2022 Stanley Cup.

Nashville has missed the playoffs three of the past four seasons after a stretch of eight straight postseason berths, which included the 2017 Western Conference championship.

“(MacFarland) turned out to be a perfect fit for us — just what we were looking for to lead our organization moving forward,” Predators chairman and majority owner Bill Haslam said in a statement.

Sakic will fill in as GM for the Avalanche for the “foreseeable future,” Kroenke Sports & Entertainment vice chairman Josh Kroenke said.

“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,” Kroenke said. “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.”

One decision facing the Avalanche may be the status of coach Jared Bednar, the all-time winningest coach in franchise history who’s about to enter the final season of his contract. The Avalanche have been to the postseason nine straight seasons under Bednar, with one appearance in the Stanley Cup Final.

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AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker contributed to this report.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/nhl

Pat Graham, The Associated Press