Chris MacFarland's first trade as the general manager of the Nashville Predators came with his former team, the Colorado Avalanche, in a deal Tuesday that saw his new club acquire forward Ross Colton.
Colton and prospect goaltender Isak Posch were moved to Nashville in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick, a 2027 third-round pick and goalie Magnus Chrona, who signed a contract back in May to play with Brynas IF in Sweden.
The trade comes two weeks after MacFarland was hired to become the Predators new general manager and president of hockey operations.
MacFarland first came to the Avalanche in 2015. He served as their assistant GM and helped build the roster that won the Stanley Cup in 2022. He was then elevated to GM prior to the 2022-23 season with Joe Sakic, who was GM, remaining with the club as president of hockey operations.
Moving on from Colton, who has one year left on his contract worth $4 million, was expected given the Avalanche's salary cap questions following a regular season that saw them finish with the best record in the NHL before being swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference finals.
PuckPedia projects the Avalanche now have $6.979 million in cap space to address a roster that has four pending unrestricted free agents on defense.
Sakic, who took over as GM when MacFarland left, is now overseeing a roster that has many of its players under contract for next season.
Core players like Mackenzie Blackwood, Nazem Kadri, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Josh Manson, Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, Valeri Nichushkin and Devon Toews each have more than two years left on their current contracts.
Others like Cale Makar and Scott Wedgewood are entering the final years of their respective deals before becoming unrestricted free agents.
For now, it appears the primary focus for Sakic and his front office staff is figuring out what they'll do on the back end with Jack Ahcan, Nick Blankenburg, Brent Burns and Brett Kulak all needing a new contract.
As for the Predators, MacFarland is seeking to build upon a roster that finished four points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second and final Western Conference wild-card spot.
Getting Colton, who has one year remaining on his contract at $4 million, gives the Predators another top-nine veteran forward that's spent the last two years trying to bridge the gap with their veterans and younger players.
Reuniting with Colton, who scored nine goals and 24 points in 73 games, could be the first move in what has a chance to be an active offseason for MacFarland. PuckPedia projects that the Preds have $23.22 million in salary cap space with a three-player unrestricted free agent class led by veteran forward Erik Haula.
Given the Predators' copious cap space and draft capital, MacFarland could be inclined to use both to continue building around a veteran core featuring Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, Jonathan Marchessault, Ryan O'Reilly, Juuse Saros, Brady Skjei and Colton's former Tampa Bay Lightning teammate Steven Stamkos.