The Nashville Predators and Chris MacFarland have gained much traction over the past several weeks. It appears the two parties are closing in on a deal.
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, MacFarland and Predators majority owner Bill Haslam met on Sunday night, and the plan is to get this done as quickly as possible.
More: according to several sources, MacFarland met face-to-face last night with owner Bill Haslam and the goal is for the Predators to close this quickly. They know they will have to hand the keys to MacFarland and are prepared to do it. Stay tuned. https://t.co/cRHBbQqheZ
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 2, 2026
The Chris MacFarland; Nashville Predators Speculation
The Colorado Avalanche wrapped up their season last week against the Vegas Golden Knights. MacFarland’s name began swirling around then. Was it a distraction and part of the reason why the Avalanche lost in the Conference Final? Maybe. But there is a reason why the Avalanche have not held their year-end media availabilities yet.
Unlike the situation in Vegas with Bruce Cassidy, which could be resolved shortly after the Stanley Cup Final is over, the Avalanche granted the Predators permission to speak with Chris MacFarland. As documented, MacFarland was up for the GM job in Anaheim. This was before Joe Sakic was promoted to President of Hockey Operations and gave MacFarland the GM title. But the Avalanche are not going to hold back MacFarland.
From the start, the Nashville Predators had been looking for someone outside the organization to lead their hockey operations department. While Bill Haslam is the Predators’ owner, minority owner Nick Saban has been involved in the process. They wanted to bring in a winning mindset to the organization.
There have been lots of names thrown around, including Tom Fitzgerald, Darren Yorke, Ryan Martin, Tyler Dellow, Marc Bergevin, Martin Madden, and others the Predators have talked to. Again, teams like New Jersey, Vancouver, and Toronto all made general manager changes after the Predators and named a new head of hockey operations, while Nashville was still going through the process.
However, the belief has always been that where there is smoke, there is fire. The expectation is that Chris MacFarland will be hired by the Nashville Predators.
The Colorado Avalanche have granted the Nashville Predators permission to speak to GM Chris MacFarland.@FriedgeHNIC & @PierreVLeBrun were first to report. I’m hearing the expectation is the deal gets done for MacFarland to go to Nashville.
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) June 2, 2026
The Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators Searching for Defensemen
Stay tuned as this story develops and finds a resolution.
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