It is getting crowded in the Nashville Predators front office, but that makes things all the better.
Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager Chris MacFarland is constructing a promising roster ahead of the 2026-27 season. Behind the scenes, he's done even more, hiring some of the top names in hockey management to construct a front officer superteam.
In his most recent hirings, MacFarland has brought in Vukie Mpofu to serve as Assistant General Manager and Dawson Sprigings as Assistant to the General Manager. They join Rob Blake, Executive V.P. of Hockey Ops., and Jamie Langenbrunner, Special Assistant to the General Manager, as the list of hirings made under MacFarland's control of the organization.
Mpofu spent the last three seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, serving as the Director of Hockey Ops. and Legal Affairs. In his time with Pittsburgh, he oversaw player contract negotiations, CBA and salary cap compliances, as well as working alongside the team's hockey research and development department.
Prior to working with the Penguins, Mpofu also served as Manager of Hockey Ops. and Legal Affairs with the Los Angeles Kings from 2021-23, working with then-Kings general manager Blake. In a similar stance to how MacFarland is guiding the prospects with recently acquired veterans, he is guiding new hires into familiarity with previous hires. The 30-year-old received praise from MacFarland, giving fans hope for what's to come.
"We are very pleased that Vukie has elected to join the Predators hockey operations staff as Assistant General Manager,” MacFarland said in a press release. “He is one of the great young minds in the game today, and we are confident he’ll be a great fit with the rest of our management team as we look to build a winning franchise in Nashville."
His other hire is just as promising. Sprigings previously served as Associate Director of Analytics and Lead Data Scientist for MacFarland's former club, the Colorado Avalanche. Another organizational acquisition from the Avalanche, it's clear that MacFarland is pursuing names that he is familiar with but also believe carry potential.
Sprigings spent seven years with Colorado, with five of them under the associate director title. He helped MacFarland in the analytics department, helping the team win the Stanley Cup in 2022 and the President's Trophy last season.
"We are pleased to announce Dawson has decided to join our hockey operations department as Assistant to the General Manager,” MacFarland said in a press release. “He will be a key staff addition and will help us in many areas, including, but not limited to, analytics, team-building strategy and some scouting work. I have first-hand knowledge of the type of work Dawson can produce, and he will be a valuable asset to the Predators."
MacFarland is quietly constructing a strong front office, and Mpofu and Sprigings' hirings only proves that.
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