Predators given permission to speak to Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland

The Nashville Predators have added another name to their general manager search.

The Predators have been granted permission to speak to Colorado Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland, the team confirmed to The Tennessean.

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It's unclear whether MacFarland would be interviewing for the same role in Nashville – which would be a lateral move – or another as of yet undefined role. In Colorado, MacFarland works under president of hockey operations Joe Sakic.

There have been reports that the Predators could be interested in a similar set up as Colorado, with a president of hockey operations presiding over a general manager. In February, when Barry Trotz announced his retirement, the team indicated they would only be hiring one position.

MacFarland, 56, has been with Colorado since 2015, when he was named assistant general manager. In 2022, he took over the general manager position from Sakic, after Sakic's promotion to president of hockey operations.

While with Colorado, the Avalanche have built a loaded roster that includes Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. MacFarland is credited with signing MacKinnon to an eight-year deal in 2022, as well as making key trades for Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, and Nazem Kadri. During his time in Colorado, the Avalanche have made the playoffs nine consecutive seasons (2017-2026) and won the Stanley Cup in 2022.

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Prior to his time in Colorado, MacFarland was director of hockey operations and assistant general manager with the Columbus Blue Jackets for 14 seasons (2000-2015).

According to the Avalanche website, MacFarland has "worked in nearly every facet of the organization including scouting at the professional and amateur level, player contract negotiations, salary cap management and arbitration, collective bargaining agreement administration, budgeting and team scheduling issues."

A New York native, MacFarland played hockey at Pace University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in business in 1992 and a law degree in 1998. He began his career as an intern in the NHL’s New York office from 1993-94 and also worked in the NHL's productions office.

Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Predators to interview Avalanche's Chris MacFarland for GM job