Friday Faceoff: How do you grade Chris MacFarland's first season as Avalanche general manager?
Apr. 21—How do you grade Chris MacFarland's first season as Avalanche general manager?
Chris Schmaedeke, digital sports editor
Grade: A
Signing Nathan MacKinnon to a massive deal is enough to give Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland a great grade. Keeping one of the best players in the world for an extended period of time is no small feat.
But MacFarland has accomplished much more during his first year as the person in charge. He went to work in retaining several guys that helped the Avs win the Cup.
The biggest one was getting a deal done with Valeri Nichushkin. The Avs don't win the Cup without him. He got his first big contract with a deal for eight years and $49 million.
Three key pieces in the run to the title were signed to good contracts. All three players have missed time due to injury, but they are important to the team.
Defenseman Josh Manson, who scored an OT winner against the Blues in the playoffs, was rewarded with a four-year, $18 million contract. Forward Artturi Lehkonen, who score two of the biggest goals of the playoffs against the Oilers and Lightning, got a new five-year deal.
Veteran Darren Helm was also brought back, but has missed most of the season due to injury.
Keeping the group together seemed to be MacFarland's plan and it led to another Central Division title and home ice in the playoffs for the first two rounds. The general manager also brought in center Evan Rodrigues on a one-year deal.
MacFarland's true success will be measured during this playoff run but he did a great job keeping this team together.
Kyle Fredrickson, Avalanche beat writer
Grade: B+
There is no doubt that MacFarland deserves credit for several strong moves to begin his tenure. He was also instrumental in scouting Alexandar Georgiev when the team traded for him last summer (Joe Sakic's last trade as the team's general manager). A brilliant move for a now elite goaltender.
But when the dust settles on the 2022-23 season, with a repeat Stanley Cup unlikely, there are two significant MacFarland critiques that drop him a letter on my grading scale.
1. Failing to upgrade at 2C: No offense to J.T. Compher, following a career-best season, but Colorado lacked the firepower that Nazem Kadri brought to the second line a year ago. Not landing an upgrade to Compher in free agency hurt the team's overall depth (as seen in their Game 1 loss to the Kraken).
2. Landeskog situation: I don't expect MacFarland to predict the future. But the lack of a real contingency plan for captain Gabe Landeskog's eventual yearlong absence also limited this team's playoff potential. I'm sure MacFarland sought out difference-making forwards before the trade deadline. No disrespect to Lars Eller. But the Avs needed to do more.
I'll admit that I'm nitpicking at bit here to provide an alternative perspective. Avalanche fans should be comforted knowing the Sakic-MacFarland brain trust ranks among the NHL's best front office combinations. It's difficult to reach the mountaintop. It's even more difficult to stay there. MacFarland's first season as GM hasn't been perfect. But he's certainly the right person for the job.
