This afternoon the Nashville Predators shared that Rob Blake has been brought aboard as Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations.
The Hall of Fame defenseman last served as Vice President of Hockey Operations and General Manager of the Los Angeles Kings from 2017-2025 before mutually agreeing to part ways in May 2025. He’ll now join the newly appointed Chris McFarland (General Manager and President of Hockey Operations) in the Music City. According to TSN’s Pierre Lebrun, McFarland had discussed with Blake the idea of joining forces with the Avalanche next season, a team where he played from 2000-2006. Yet now, based on recent developments, they’ll do so with the Predators instead.
As outlined in the team’s press release, Blake will support McFarland across all areas of hockey operations, including team and staff strategies, free agency and player management, drafting, and more.
In a fall 2025 interview, Blake discussed what he’d learned from his time with Los Angeles with Pierre Lebrun of The Athletic, describing his accountability in walking away and letting the Kings start fresh after their fourth straight first round playoff defeat. A longtime star of the franchise as a player, it was a tough ending to pass things on to Ken Holland, but fully intent then on another NHL front office role, the door has opened again this summer in Nashville.
The 56-year-old got started as Director of Player Personnel with Los Angeles in 2011, soon promoted to Assistant General Manager where things were rolling as the Kings won two Stanley Cups. Advancing to General Manager in 2017, replacing Dean Lombardi, Blake had Los Angeles in a great spot four years ago. Starting with an aging core from the previous era, Blake moved on from the likes of Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, and Jake Muzzin. Returning to the playoffs in 2022 and putting up a great fight against the Oilers, the former defenseman had simultaneously assembled one of the best prospect pools in the entire league, led by Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke. There was much reason for optimism, as Blake opened another window for icons Anže Kopitar and Drew Doughty.
Unfortunately, Los Angeles never quite took another step despite notable additions of Kevin Fiala and Pierre Luc-Dubois. In the case of the latter, things soured quickly, as Dubois was traded away just one year into his eight year pact. Never getting past the first round of the playoffs, Blake was prompted to step away, ending his time with a respectable 309 – 238 – 71 record.
Now finding himself back into another role, Blake won’t quite be calling all the shots, working alongside the former Avalanche general manager in McFarland. Still, one can’t help but notice the parallels between the Kings standing back in 2017, compared to where the Predators are today.
The duo of McFarland and Blake must work through a roster mainly built for “win now” mode, despite missing the playoffs the last two seasons. Former general manager Barry Trotz‘s additions, the likes of Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos stand out as clear contenders to find a fresh start for eventually. It will be fascinating to see how they also approach the future for longtime stars such as Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg. Trotz was able to assemble one of the deepest prospect pools Nashville has had in their history, but they still lack the high-end talent which has alluded the franchise for practically their entire history. Inaugural GM David Poile along with Trotz avoided a dreaded bottoming out of sorts, but the idea could be more alluring to the new regime.
For Predators fans, today’s news is exciting in that two figures with Stanley Cups as executives will work in tandem to navigate the crossroads with an entirely fresh mindset. Just last week their general manager search was dragging on, full of uncertainty, and now two highly qualified executives are into the fold. Set to take the stage at 10th overall in just three weeks, there are major decisions for McFarland and Blake to make immediately on what the objective is for the 2026-27 season.