The Toronto Maple Leafs were not the only ones to make a trade on Tuesday. New President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chris MacFarland is starting to leave his imprint on the Nashville Predators.
MacFarland went to a familiar face as he traded for Ross Colton from the Colorado Avalanche, and his $4 million cap hit and goaltender Isak Posch for Nashville’s own third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, Colorado’s own third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft (previously transferred to Nashville in a prior transaction) and goaltender Magnus Chrona.
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The expectation was that once MacFarland took over as the new head of hockey operations, he would get to business right away by making changes to the roster and getting younger. The Predators needed center depth. Colton is a player MacFarland is familiar with, given his previous stop as the assistant general manager and general manager with the Colorado Avalanche.
Colton has been a name on the block for the last couple of years, and he gives the Predators even more of a championship pedigree in the room that has been lacking. However, there are still questions surrounding the roster that have to be discussed, as Nashville is still one of the older teams in the NHL.
Remember, under former GM Barry Trotz, they won free agency by signing Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei. Not to mention extending Juuse Saros for another eight seasons instead of moving forward with Yaroslav Askarov. Things have not gone as planned in Nashville, as they went from buyers to sellers, accumulating picks and prospects to help turn things around.
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The question remains, where are the Nashville Predators heading? What is the direction of the club? As Chris MacFarland told SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, the players are going to tell him what to do.
I think that’s the question, right? I think there are a lot of good hockey players here, I think. There’s there’s obviously some players like Ryan O’Reilly and Roman Josi, and Filip Forsberg and Marchessault and Stammer, and they’re really good hockey players that have been good players on good teams and winning teams for a number of years, and, and then there’s, a good prospect pool, and some players here, and that really haven’t even cut their teeth in the American Hockey League, let alone the National. So it’s, it’s, it’s definitely an interesting mix.
I think the players are going to tell us kind of where we’re at, and in training camp, and the start of the year is, as we kind of put the puzzle pieces together, but we’re definitely excited about some of the younger players that are coming here. We’re not going to rush the process. I’m going to build open, honest relationships with those key veteran players, and we’ll see where we’re at as the season progresses.
Again, there are decisions to make with this roster, given that teams are interested in O’Reilly, Stamkos, and Marchessault, all of whom were available last season. O’Reilly has the unofficial-official no-trade clause, but that was with Trotz. Stamkos and Marchessault each have no-movement clauses, but if approached with the right deal, could waive to go somewhere.
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But the roster isn’t the only issue facing the Nashville Predators; the coaching staff is, too. When MacFarland took the job, he said Andrew Brunette and his staff were under evaluation. They may still be under evaluation this season, but according to MacFarland, Brunette, Luke Richardson, Derek McKenzie, and Darby Henrickson will all be returning next season.
However, Brunette was in the hot seat last season, but given Barry Trotz’s loyalty, he was not fired when the team struggled. While Nashville turned things around, can Nashville actually carry it over into this season? You have to wonder, given how the coaching cycle went last season, whether the Predators could make a change if the team doesn’t live up to expectations.
But Chris MacFarland is not done making moves, as the Nashville Predators will be active this offseason.
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