Chris MacFarland runner-up in NHL's GM of the year award with Avalanche

Chris MacFarland finished runner-up for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award for his work with the Colorado Avalanche in the 2025-26 season, the league announced on June 26 during the NHL draft.

>MacFarland, the Predators' president of hockey operations and general manager, was general manager of the Avalanche from 2022 until 2026. On June 2, he was announced as Barry Trotz's replacement in Nashville.

>Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin won the award with 131 points, with MacFarland a close second with 123 votes. Pat Verbeek (Anaheim Ducks) finished in third place with 29 votes.

>Voting for the award is conducted among a 42-member panel of NHL general managers, other league executives and media.

>Under MacFarland, the Avalanche (55-16-11, 121 points) won the Presidents' Trophy for the fourth time in franchise history. Colorado made the playoffs for the ninth straight season and advanced to the Western Conference final for the second time in five seasons.

>MacFarland's work in free agency and at the trade deadline helped bolster his case for the award. He retained previous trade acquisition Brock Nelson, signed free agent defenseman Brent Burns, then acquired Nazem Kadri, Brett Kulak, Nicolas Roy and Nick Blankenberg at this year's trade deadline.

>MacFarland was a Jim Gregory Award finalist for the first time in his career. Joe Sakic, Colorado's current president of hockey operations, won the award in 2021-22.

>Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. He never uses artificial intelligence when developing or drafting stories. 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: Chris MacFarland runner-up in NHL's GM of the year award with Avalanche