Aarif Deen
We don’t often see a Stanley Cup contender part ways with its general manager unless he’s being fired. The Colorado Avalanche, still firmly in their championship window, are an exception.
Longtime front-office executive and four-year general manager Chris MacFarland left the organization shortly after the Avs were swept in the Western Conference Final. MacFarland spent 11 years with the franchise, including the past four as GM. Before that, he served as Joe Sakic’s assistant until Sakic was elevated to President of Hockey Operations following Colorado’s Stanley Cup victory in 2022.
Now, with MacFarland taking over as President of Hockey Operations for the Nashville Predators, Sakic is stepping back into the role he previously held. And Avalanche ownership isn’t just comfortable with the transition — it’s enthusiastic about it.
“It’s going to be part of the healthy change of the organization,” KSE Vice Chairman Josh Kroenke said on Thursday. “Having a leader like Joe Sakic sitting here next to me, looking over the organization from his lens, I think, gives you a lot of confidence no matter what’s happening around the team.”
MacFarland’s departure comes at an unusual time. General managers rarely leave in the middle of a team’s contention window if given the opportunity to see it through. While Kroenke referenced the benefits of organizational change, it doesn’t sound like the Avalanche were eager to lose MacFarland.
Had Nashville not come calling, he likely would still be in Colorado.
“I want to say thank you for the professionalism to Bill Haslam and the Nashville Predators in that process,” Kroenke said. “When Bill contacted me, I’ve been through some of these processes in different sports and different ways, and the way they handled it was with a lot of class.”
In some ways, the move may prove to be a blessing in disguise.
MacFarland inherited a roster that lost several key contributors following the 2022 Stanley Cup championship because of salary-cap constraints. From starting goalie Darcy Kuemper to standout 2C Nazem Kadri, and depth winger Andre Burakovsky.
Not every move MacFarland made worked, but he leaves behind a deeper and more talented, albeit older, roster than the one he took over four years ago. The cost, however, was high, as Colorado spent much of its future draft capital and prospect depth to get there.
MacFarland reshaped and refreshed the roster. Now it’s up to Sakic to make the final tweaks necessary to push the Avalanche back over the top.
He’ll just have to do it without MacFarland at his side, as he had during Colorado’s 2022 championship run.
“When a situation like C-Mac’s evolves, and you start to have a little bit of discussion there, you just look at Joe and say, one, ‘I know you’ve done this before, so I feel good about a transition period,'” Kroenke said. “But you also say, ‘How deep is our bench?’ We always try to have deep benches, not only on the ice but off the ice as well. So I want to sing the praises not only of C-Mac leaving, but of Kevin McDonald and Andrew Cogliano stepping up as well.”
Kroenke added: “I just felt very comfortable knowing that could be a default position for us.”