Predators’ Chris MacFarland Is Worth the Hype

The flashiest of these moves, however, may have come on the first day of free agency. Nashville brought in Dallas Stars center Mavrik Bourque and cap-dump defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin for a second-rounder and a third-rounder. Bourque will need an extension, but that will presumably get done soon.

These moves more or less share a common philosophy. For the most part, these are cheap, potentially major upgrades to the middle six. Drury had elite defensive results in Colorado and averaged second-line minutes at even strength, according to Evolving-Hockey. At 26 years old, he may have another gear—especially offensively.

Then, you have Höglander. Albeit in limited minutes, his 2023-24 season was analytically superb, but he hasn’t been able to return to that level. He’s still fairly young, though, and a new opportunity could lead to great things.

Colton may be a short-term addition, seeing as he’s 29 years old with one year left on his contract, but he was cheap to get and has been an impressive contributor in the past. With more ice time, he could certainly be a hot commodity on the trade market if the Predators plan to sell. He may even fetch a first-rounder.

The Bourque move is a fun one, and there’s some real upside. He most likely projects to be a solid middle-six center, but there were times that he played on the first line in Dallas and truly excelled. So, maybe this ends up being a home run. In any event, it’s hard to envision a world where the Stars end up on top.

Nashville Has Flexibility

The good thing about these trades—and, so far, being relatively quiet in free agency—is that the team can be flexible.

If the Predators have a bad start to the 2026-27 campaign or feel the need to sell some of the veterans, they can do so without completely stripping down the roster. A core of Bourque, Drury, and Höglander, to a lesser extent, can provide some of the young guys with enough talent to succeed.

This is kind of the anti-Chicago Blackhawks model. They completely stripped it down, which landed them Connor Bedard in 2023, but he hasn’t had any quality linemates. With pressure presumably mounting, the team traded a monster package for Bowen Byram. They then made him the highest-paid defenseman in the league.

Nashville, on the other hand, has a competent NHL roster with some really good prospects. If the Predators want to make progress toward landing a high-end player at next year’s draft by selling, that’s an option. If the plan isn’t to bottom out, that could certainly lead to a future championship, even if a Landon DuPont-type addition would do wonders for the organization.

Assessing the Predators’ Promising Prospect Pool

Speaking of Nashville’s prospects, let’s talk about them. Even without a flashy superstar, you could argue that the Predators have a top-three—or maybe even top-one—pool in the NHL.

Brady Martin, drafted fifth overall last June, is the face of Nashville’s prospect pool. The 19-year-old center didn’t have impressive numbers this past season for the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Soo Greyhounds, with 34 points in 34 total games. But his play style is super projectable. I’m confident that he can be a do-it-all top-six pest for the Predators, even if the numbers are somewhat underwhelming.

Another potential top-six forward in the system is recent 10^th-overall selection, Wyatt Cullen. I think the No. 10 spot was fair for him, but he was my seventh-ranked prospect in the 2026 class (and he was very close to being sixth). Martin could be the perfect complement to the 17-year-old’s dynamic, puck-dominant style.

Next, there’s Yegor Surin. He has blossomed since becoming a full-time pro in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), just recently recording 37 points in 57 regular-season games as a 19-year-old. If all goes well, Surin could be a top-six forward.

To end off, we have collegiate forwards Ryker Lee and Teddy Stiga. The former was a sleeper for me in last year’s draft. He had a solid freshman campaign for Michigan State University with 30 points in 35 games. Stiga, on the other hand, only had 21 points in 31 games for Boston College this past season, but could be an important player for the Predators someday.

Defensively, Nashville is also quite strong. Trading up for 5-foot-11 defender Tommy Bleyl in this year’s draft could really pay off for MacFarland. The size may be a deterrent to some, but Bleyl is a terrific skater who can move the puck and who has a high offensive ceiling.

Cameron Reid, taken 21^st overall in last year’s opening round, has a similar profile. Undersized, yes, but an elite skater with a better defensive game than Bleyl at the same age. These two could be second-pairing guys in the future.

Between the pipes, Jack Ivankovic had a marvelous freshman season at the University of Michigan. With 25 wins, a .921 save percentage, and a 2.15 goals-against average in 35 contests, he was a B1G Second-Team All-Star.

When you combine this pool with some of the kids on the NHL roster, such as Matthew Wood, the future outlook becomes even more encouraging. There’s still work to be done, but few teams boast a crop of young players comparable to the Predators’.

MacFarland didn’t assemble everything here, but he has done an enviable job in his short stint. The Predators may have plucked a mastermind from Colorado.