In under two months with the Nashville Predators, GM Chris Macfarland has greatly improved their roster, bolstering their depth.
Whether it's signing a depth winger who's shown flashes of greatness, or a cap dump trade that has the possibility to shape their future, there's no doubt that MacFarland has made some excelent moves. With that said, let's dive tight into all of his moves so far and assign them a letter grade, then average them all together for his final score (so far).
Ross Colton Trade: B+
Trading a likely lifetime AHL goalie prospect and a couple of thirds for a versatile middle 6/bottom 9 forward sounds like a good trade at face value but taking on his contract is the issue in this trade. At 4 million AAV, this one might sting our cap space a little short-term. Colton's stats have seen a steady decline from his 40-point season in the 2023/24 season, with him only having 9 goals and 24 points last season.
However, a couple down years doesn't determine a player's career, and realistically with a change of scenery like this, I could see him rebounding. He only has one year left on his contract, and unless he puts up a stellar season, it's unreasonable for him to expect anywhere close to that. Depending on his stats next season, if we can manage to re-sign him for around 2.75 million, I'd give this move a B+.
Jack Drury Trade: C+
Not a lot of Preds fans were a big fan of this trade. Trading two forward prospects with middle-6 potential for a bottom-6 player, a third, a likely AHL lifer is definitely a questionable move. I do think MacFarland has faith in Drury, however, I believe that the secondary purpose of this move was to get rid of Svechkov, who was, to say the least, underwhelming in his sophomore season (falling from 8 goals and 9 assists in 54 games in 2024/25 to 4 goals and 13 assists in 70 games). Throwing in L'Heureux was likely to make the Avs agree to the trade.
However, in my opinion, this is a massive overpay. One or the other and maybe a pick or two would've sufficed in my opinion, but only time can tell when it comes to trading prospects.
Trading up in the Draft: A
The first A of the day, and for good reason. We gave up two of our 2nd round picks in the draft for the 31st overall pick, which we used to steal defenseman Tommy Bleyl at 31st overall. One of the best-skating defensemen in his class and expected by some to go as soon as the late teens, Bleyl can bring a great 2-way presence to our D in the future. I personally consider this the best late-round steal of the entire draft.
Adam Edstrom Trade: B-
Don't get me wrong, this trade looks good on paper; getting a 25-year-old GIANT (standing at a whopping 6'8) for our forward depth in exchange for a 5th rounder and a C-tier prospect is a pretty decent move. However, with how stacked our depth core became shortly after that, it seems he will be a 13th forward, which blocks the path for prospects like Ozzy Wiesblatt.
Hindsight is always 20/20, and the way I'm seeing this now, it was virtually useless, maybe even harmful in our prospect development. Still, though, I am a fan of getting such a huge guy, so I won't give this one a bad grade.
Nils Hoglander Trade: B+
This is a low-risk, high-reward move. When looking at his stats, you might notice that Höglander had a sudden dropoff in production, going from a career-high 36 points in 2023/24 to 25 points the following year, then to only 5 points last season.
However, I don't attribute that to him, I blame it all on the nightmare that is Vancouver. 2023-24 was their last season as a decent team until horrible locker room dynamics and the departure of key stars left their team to rot at the bottom of the standings. It wasn't just his stats that fell off, either, it was virtually every player on the team.
The year before Vancouver's downfall, Hoglander scored a career-high 24 goals at just 23 years old, which shows a pretty high potential for a future 30-goalscorer. Hopefully this change of scenery will be beneficial for him, and I could easily see this B+ turning into an A or A+ in the future.
Mavrik Bourque Trade: A+
MacFarland worked his MacMagic in this masterstroke of a cap dump. For the low cost of a 2nd, a 3rd, and taking in the equivalent of a cone on the blue line in Lyubushkin (still an improvement over Barron), we snagged a true 2C (one of the most sought-after positions in the NHL currently). One of our biggest problems was our center depth, and it's pretty clear that MacFarland knew that, as he snapped his fingers and, BOOM, our center core was stacked.
We might be missing a true 1C in the moment, but in a couple years, I could easily see Bourque ready to step into that role, and, with a whole lot of luck, becoming that superstar that Preds fans have always wanted.
Signing Kerfoot: B-
I like Kerfoot, but 7 million ($3.5 million AAV) is a bit much for a bottom 6 forward in his 30s. This is looking like a Trotz move to me. It seems MacFarland might be trying to speedrun the Preds back into the playoffs, and it's looking like his goal is to do it in the next 2 seasons (which honestly makes sense, as that's around when Josi, Stamkos, and O'Reilly might retire). It's clear MacFarland is trying to stack our depth, but at a cost like this, I can't say I'm the biggest fan of this one.
The Final Score
Alright, the score is in; averaged together, all of MacFarlands moves get him a...
B+
I'm genuinely impressed with what he's done for our team, both improving our forward depth and securing a true 2C. All in all, this new roster is looking very promising, and while only time can tell the chemistry of the team, I'm fairly confident in MacFarland's strategy, and wouldn't be surprised to see us making the playoffs next season. MacFarland still has plenty of time to make more moves too, so I can't wait to see what he does next!
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