Chris MacFarland is wasting no time.

The Nashville Predators’ president of hockey operations and general manager, on the job less than a week, is on a mission.

His first move was to hire Rob Blake, former general manager of the Los Angeles Kings, to be his second-in-command and executive vice president of hockey operations.

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Now he wants to strengthen the Predators‘ analytics department.

In an exclusive interview with The Tennessean on June 6, MacFarland explained the need to improve the team’s strategy with data analytics.

“This is more of a beef-up than a replace,” he said. “I’m still getting to know the guys here, but I already know that we’re understaffed. We need to add to the group.”

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Chris MacFarland, new Nashville Predators general manager, introduced

Chris MacFarland speaks after being introduced as the new president of hockey operations and general manager of the Nashville Predators as owner Bill Haslam listens during a news conference at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn.

(MARK ZALESKI / THE TENNESSEAN)

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Chris MacFarland, new Nashville Predators general manager, introduced

Chris MacFarland speaks after being introduced as the new president of hockey operations and general manager of the Nashville Predators as owner Bill Haslam listens during a news conference at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn.

(MARK ZALESKI / THE TENNESSEAN)

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Chris MacFarland, new Nashville Predators general manager, introduced

Nashville Predator President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chris MacFarland speaks during a news conference at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn.

(MARK ZALESKI / THE TENNESSEAN)

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Chris MacFarland, new Nashville Predators general manager, introduced

Chris MacFarland speaks after being introduced as the new president of hockey operations and general manager of the Nashville Predators as CEO Sean Henry and owner Bill Haslam listen during a news conference at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn.

(MARK ZALESKI / THE TENNESSEAN)

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Chris MacFarland, new Nashville Predators general manager, introduced

Chris MacFarland speaks after being introduced as the new president of hockey operations and general manager of the Nashville Predators during a news conference at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn.

(MARK ZALESKI / THE TENNESSEAN)

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Chris MacFarland, new Nashville Predators general manager, introduced

Nashville Predator President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chris MacFarland speaks during a news conference at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn.

(MARK ZALESKI / THE TENNESSEAN)

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Chris MacFarland, new Nashville Predators general manager, introduced

Nashville Predators Philip Forsberg and Nick Hague listen to Chris MacFarland speak after he was introduced as the new president of hockey operations and general manager of the Nashville Predators during a news conference at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn.

(MARK ZALESKI / THE TENNESSEAN)

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Chris MacFarland, new Nashville Predators general manager, introduced

Chris MacFarland shakes hands with CEO Sean Henry as owner Bill Haslam presents him with jersey while being introduced as the new president of hockey operations and general manager of the Nashville Predators during a news conference at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn.

(MARK ZALESKI / THE TENNESSEAN)

The Predators currently have four staffers devoted full-time to hockey analytics. Matt Hamann, who has been with the team since 2013, took on a role in analytics in 2016, then was named director of hockey analytics in 2023. His team includes data engineers Dalton Linkus and Ben Noe, and data analyst Dylan Slaughter.

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MacFarland says that’s not enough.

“It’s manpower. It’s more predictive analytics for where the league is going, where the AI world is going,” he said. “There are teams with double-digit numbers of these positions.”

Why Chris MacFarland wants to add to Predators’ analytics staff

Data analytics is relatively new in hockey. The Toronto Maple Leafs set the trend in 2014, hiring data-focused Kyle Dubas as assistant general manager. Eric Tulsky, the Carolina Hurricanes‘ general manager, was once a blogger specializing in data analytics, and was originally hired as a data consultant in 2014.

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Colorado, where MacFarland spent the past 11 years, has a robust hockey analytics team led by director Arik Parnass, who has been with the team since 2016.

MacFarland sees Nashville as behind in this area. He wants to add data engineers and data analysts in the coming weeks and in the next 12 months.

LURED AWAY: How Bill Haslam lured Chris MacFarland to Nashville despite Colorado’s counteroffers

The Predators already use data analytics in making decisions at the NHL draft and in pre-scout meetings. Coach Andrew Brunette has referenced the importance of data when making lineup decisions.

“We want to add to an already solid infrastructure,” MacFarland said. “For me, analytics is a massive part of the decision making. It will touch everything from the draft, development, pro scouting, re-signing players, free agent targets. It will be a piece of the decision-making puzzle in everything we do.”

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It’s also clear that his experience with the Avalanche, who won the Stanley Cup in 2022, is influencing this strategy.

“The analytics group in Colorado had the full confidence of (president of hockey operations) Joe (Sakic) and myself,” MacFarland said. “It was a well-oiled machine. The people were in place, there was no turnover. It got to the point where it just ran (itself).

“Every place probably does it a little different. But it’s a living, breathing animal. As more data comes in, you have to have the manpower to handle it. There’s some good people here, but I’m trying to get ahead of it.”

POILE LEAVING: Assistant GM Brian Poile, son of former GM David Poile, leaving Nashville Predators

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Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. He never uses artificial intelligence when developing or drafting stories. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Predators’ GM Chris MacFarland wants team to add data analysts