Chris MacFarland Bet Everything on Winning — and the Avalanche Are Cashing In
After a season-defining trade sparked outrage across the hockey world, Chris MacFarland and Jared Bednar ignored the noise, doubled down on their vision, and somehow built the Colorado Avalanche into an even more dangerous Stanley Cup contender.
DENVER — Chris MacFarland doesn't overcomplicate the mission. "We're trying to win, right? " the Colorado Avalanche general manager said Tuesday at a news conference previewing their Western Conference finals matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Simple enough — but the way he's gone about building this team is anything but. A Roster Built on Trades, Not Tradition Of the players on Colorado's active roster, only three — Gabe Landeskog, Cale Makar, and Nathan MacKinnon — were drafted by the organization. Everyone else arrived via trade or free agency, which makes the Avalanche's sustained success a quiet testament to MacFarland's eye for talent and his willingness to spend organizational capital to get it.
It's also a big reason he's one of three finalists for the NHL's GM of the year award. "We're sacrificing some of that youth. Some of those picks and prospects.
So, you've got to delve into (free agency)," MacFarland said. "Our scouts have done a great job supplementing the moving out of the (draft) picks. We've got high, high-end drafted players that are still with us.
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