The Nashville Predators have issued a statement officially announcing that Chris MacFarland has been hired as the team’s new president/GM.
The Predators asked for and received permission from the Colorado Avalanche to speak to MacFarland, the former Avs’ general manager, about the team’s vacant president role, as former team executive Barry Trotz said he was stepping down once this season was over.
The Predators have now made the hiring official, giving MacFarland the title of President of Hockey Operations/General Manager, while Trotz will transition to an advisory role.
Predators Issue Statement on Hiring of Chris MacFarland
The Predators issued a full statement on the hiring of MacFarland.
“We could not be more pleased that Chris has elected to join the Predators organization and lead our hockey operations group. 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,” Predators owner Bill Haslam said in a statement.
“I’d like to thank the Colorado Avalanche, the Kroenke family and Joe Sakic for giving Chris permission to talk with us and for supporting his desire to make this move. I’d also like to thank the members of our search committee, those who expressed interest in joining the Predators in this role, and especially Barry Trotz for his work in positioning Chris for success. We appreciate everyone’s time and effort in this endeavor.”
Chris MacFarland Reacts to Being Hired by Predators
In addition, MacFarland issued his own statement in which he reacted to being hired by the Predators as the team’s new president/GM.
“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. We also thank everyone at the Avalanche, including 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,” MacFarland said.
“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, 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.”
The Predators missed the playoffs the last two seasons, so there is quite a bit of work for MacFarland to do in Nashville.
But after helping turn the Avalanche into one of the league’s best teams, including winning the Stanley Cup as an assistant GM to Joe Sakic in 2022 with the club, the Predators have hired, by far, the best executive available as they look to turn their franchise fortunes around.
On paper, it’s a great hire by Nashville, and it will be interesting to see what moves MacFarland makes this summer to help get the Predators back into the playoffs next year.
Predators Issue Statement on Hiring of Chris MacFarland