Chris MacFarland has been named a finalist for the 2025-26 General Manager of the Year for the first time in his career
The NHL announced that, along with Bill Guerin of the Minnesota Wild and Pat Verbeek of the Anaheim Ducks, Chris MacFarland is the third finalist for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year award.
Voting for this award was conducted among fellow NHL general managers and a "panel of league executives and media" after the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs concluded.
MacFarland helped build the best Colorado Avalanche team in franchise history statistically, as they finished with a franchise-high 121 points, leading to a 55-16-11 record and securing the 2025-26 Presidents' Trophy. The team itself has achieved great success; they became the fourth team in the expansion era to lead the league in both (non-shootout) goals for (298) and goals against (197).
The biggest impact MacFarland has had was his acquisitions of players to the team in the offseason and at the trade deadline. Brent Burns was the first to add some veteran depth to the team, but we all know how the trades leading to the deadline will look for a team that's in its prime to contend.
MacFarland addressed nearly everything this team needed leading to the deadline: more defensive depth with Nick Blankenburg and Brett Kulak, a bottom-six center in Nic Roy, and a grand slam trade bringing back Nazem Kadri for a boosted top-nine impact.
This is MacFarland's first time being nominated for the award despite. The last time an Avalanche general manager was a finalist for the award was when Joe Sakic was in the role and won it during the 2021-22 season, the same season they won the Stanley Cup.
