As Nashville seeks a successor for Barry Trotz, rumors link the Avalanche's current General Manager, Chris MacFarland, to their new upcoming President of Hockey Operations role.
The past 48 hours for the Colorado Avalanche haven’t been the best. You're down 3-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Finals with Cale Makar coming back from an upper-body injury, only to have Nathan MacKinnon go down with a knee injury. Now, the media and fans are all considering whether, if the team loses Game 4 or the series, management should make a coaching change.
The pressure and rumors only continue; now, not only is there speculation about shaking up your head coach and coaching staff, but your General Manager could be leaving for a rival organization to take on a larger role this offseason.
Chris MacFarland To Music City?
On May 23, Jonah Sigel, writer for the Toronto Star, put out a post on X/Twitter that stated that he is hearing that the Nashville Predators will name Avalanche General Manager, Chris MacFarland, as their new Vice-President of Hockey Operations this summer, an upgrade over his current position with the Avalanche.
It's a serious upgrade and change of role considering where the Predators are right now with the state of their team. With a lot of expiring contracts, veterans who still have term on their deals, and nine combined picks from rounds 1 and 2 over the next three seasons, it's a team that needs clarity on where its franchise is going, and it needs to start this summer.
It does line up with the plans the Predators tend to make this summer, as current GM and President of Hockey Operations Barry Trotz announced earlier this season that he would step down from both roles to retire.
This past season, the Predators began the process of finding the right candidate to replace Trotz. A plethora of names have been reported as those they want to talk with, including former New Jersey Devils GM and President Tom Fitzgerald, Florida Panthers assistant GM Brett Peterson, Dallas Stars assistant GM Scott White, Carolina Hurricanes assistant GM Darren Yorke, and Edmonton Oilers assistant GM Bill Scott.
So the Predators are willing to talk to anyone and everyone they can get an accepted request from, but is the initial report true? Do the Predators tend to take MacFarland from the Avalanche? Is there any other source that can back it up?
Avalanche Are Safe, For Now
It didn’t take long for Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman to report 32 Thoughts: The Podcast to help break down the situation and elaborate further. The main point Friedman raised is that, right now, the Predators are not permitted to talk to MacFarland, and no deal is in place for him to sign when the season is over and jump ship immediately.
As much as the Predators have him as a key figure in their job search, nothing is set in stone, even with Friedman saying that a “done deal” is “way, way, way, premature”.
As of right now, aside from the two reports for Friedman and Sigel, there have been no other reports from insiders or announcements by the two organizations that have made it publicly clear that an interview request has occurred. Nothing is set in stone, and until a report or announcement is made, MacFarland’s position with the team is safe, though there isn’t much the team can do to stop him from leaving.
Management can block anyone from requesting access to speak to him for any managerial positions. When someone is under contract with the team, the team can hold them to their contractual obligations. Just look at what the Golden Knights are doing with Bruce Cassidy. Denying teams like the Edmonton Oilers and other teams in the conference from requesting to talk to him to hire him as their next coach.
Avalanche Doesn’t Really Have Full Control Of The Situation.
Make what you want of the reports; it all comes down to whether Nashville really wants MacFarland and whether he feels the same about an upgrade in position. If he does, the Avalanche can’t really do anything about it.
If the team really values MacFarland, there isn’t a higher title to give him. That would mean firing Sakic as President of Hockey Operations and giving MacFarland that title, but I doubt they will do that. They already made that move to keep both members after they won the Stanley Cup in 2022, bumping Sakic to President of Hockey Operations and moving MacFarland from Assistant GM to GM.
The only other factor is MacFarland's loyalty to the franchise. Whether he would really leave a contending championship team he helped build for a rival franchise in the division that's on the brink of a complete rebuild. It would obviously be a great opportunity and a promotion many might take if put in that situation, but would he be so quick to leave after just getting promoted a couple of years ago?
Obviously, every Avalanche fan would love to see him and the team issue a statement thanking the Predators for their interest while committing to the Avalanche for the future. Only time will tell whether the reports prove true and whether more changes will come to the Colorado Avalanche this summer.
