Chris MacFarland becomes Avalanche General Manager | Press Conference

July 11th, 2022: The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that Executive Vice President/General Manager Joe Sakic has been named President of Hockey Operations, while Assistant General Manager Chris MacFarland has been named General Manager.

The 2021-22 campaign marked Sakic’s ninth season as Executive Vice President, his 11th year overall in the organization's front office. He took over his current responsibilities on May 10, 2013. Prior to assuming that role, Sakic, 53, spent two years as the club's Executive Advisor/Alternate Governor, a position he was hired for on March 25, 2011.

Chris MacFarland, 52, just completed his seventh season as the Avalanche’s Assistant GM. Hired on May 21, 2015, MacFarland has worked closely with Sakic regarding all hockey-related matters during his time in Colorado and was a pivotal part of the turnaround from finishing last in the league in 2016-17 to capturing the Presidents’ Trophy in 2020-21 and winning the Stanley Cup in 2022.

Prior to joining the Avalanche, MacFarland was a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets' hockey operations department for 16 years. He worked in nearly every facet of the organization including scouting at the professional and amateur level, player contract negotiations, salary cap management and arbitration, collective bargaining agreement administration, budgeting and team scheduling issues. He also oversaw the hockey operations efforts of the Blue Jackets' minor-league affiliates.

MacFarland joined Columbus prior to the 1999-00 NHL campaign and served as the club's manager of hockey operations from 2001-07 before being promoted to assistant to the general manager in July 2007. He moved to the position of assistant general manager a year later in July 2008. Born on March 28, 1970 in the Bronx, New York, he played college hockey at Pace University where he received a bachelor's degree in business in 1992 and later graduated from the university's law school in 1998. He began his career on the business side of the sport as an intern in the NHL’s New York office from 1993-94 and worked in the NHL Productions office while attending law school.

For more information, as well as all the latest NHL news and highlights, log onto the team's official website at http://www.ColoradoAvalanche.com/

Chris MacFarland becomes Avalanche General Manager | Press Conference

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