Outrageous rumor has Avalanche GM bolting for division rival

An outrageous rumor has emerged, one positing that the Colorado Avalanche could lose a top executive for this upcoming season.

Jonah Sigel, known as a Toronto Maple Leafs insider, tweeted an interesting tidbit regarding the Nashville Predators GM search. In the post, he named a concerning name for Avalanche fans: Chris MacFarland.

Now, the move to Nashville is actually a promotion for MacFarland. The current Avalanche GM would be moving on to Vice-President of Hockey Operations.

That’s an important situation. As it stands, the Predators have a GM and President of Hockey Operations rolled into Barry Trotz’s job description. However, Trotz announced earlier this season that he would be stepping down due to retirement.

Since then, the search has been ongoing for a replacement. A bunch of names have been thrown out there. The biggest one being former New Jersey Devils GM and President Tom Fitzgerald. The rationale behind Fitzgerald is that he was the Predators’ first captain back when the team joined the league in the late 90s.

The Devils canned Fitzgerald a few weeks ago, and nothing has materialized in Nashville. No one is really sure what the holdup is. But a comment by insider Elliotte Friedman, cryptic as it is, could confirm what Sigel wrote.

“I think they're waiting on someone who they can't talk to yet, and whether it's someone who's competing for a Stanley Cup or someone who's under contract...That's I think where we are.”

Friedman is usually very careful not to name names unless he’s sure of the situation, and he knows he won’t get in hot water for letting the cat out of the bag.

If the Predators are serious about MacFarland, they would have to request permission to speak with him. Thus far, there is no indication that’s the case. With the Avalanche in the Western Conference Final, the organization would likely tell anyone to go jump in a lake.

If such conversations were to take place, they would happen until after the Avalanche’s season is over.

Why Avalanche can’t really stop MacFarland from leaving

So, the Avalanche could technically block anyone from trying to speak with MacFarland. When a player, coach, or executive is under contract with a team, that team can hold the individual to their contractual obligation.

End of story.

But there’s somewhat of an unwritten rule in the NHL regarding potential promotions. If an executive were in line for a promotion with another organization, the current team might not stand in the way.

And that’s why the Avalanche really can’t avoid MacFarland leaving. Unless Colorado is willing to promote MacFarland in order to keep him, the organization can’t block him from at least interviewing for the job.

There’s one other thing. The Predators are a division rival. That may be enough grounds to deny any requests to speak with MacFarland. It might not necessarily sit well. But the precedent the Vegas Golden Knights have set with Bruce Cassidy and the Edmonton Oilers could be something the Avalanche can use as justification.

The Avs can say, “Look at Vegas. They’re blocking a division rival from speaking to a FORMER coach. So, why can’t we block Nashville from taking our current GM?”

The last piece of the puzzle, of course, is MacFarland’s loyalty. He could be gracious enough to thank the Predators for their interest, but decline to stay in Colorado. That’s what fans would like to hear.

But if any of us were in that situation, in a position to get a very nice promotion, would it be wise to pass?

That’s a very hard question to answer. It will be interesting to see if there are any legs to this rumor or if it’s just a bunch of hogwash.

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