Predators hire Vukie Mpofu as assistant GM
A rising name in the hockey ranks is heading to Smashville.
On Tuesday, Nashville Predators general manager Chris MacFarland announced that the team has hired Vukie Mpofu as the team’s new assistant general manager.
Mpofu will work alongside MacFarland across all areas of the franchise’s hockey operations department, including player acquisition strategy, CBA, salary compliance, and more.
In a release, MacFarland noted how Mpofu is one of the young, bright minds in the game today.
“We are very pleased that Vukie has elected to join the Predators hockey operations staff as Assistant General Manager,” said MacFarland. “He is one of the great young minds in the game today, and we are confident he’ll be a great fit with the rest of our management team as we look to build a winning franchise in Nashville.”
MacFarland noted that the Predators had to work with the Pittsburgh Penguins in order to hire Mpofu. The 30-year-old had spent the past three seasons working under general manager Kyle Dubas as director of hockey operations and legal affairs. Mpofu had similar responsibilities in Pittsburgh that he will carry over to his new post in Music City.
Mpofu acknowledged his excitement for the new opportunity.
“My wife and I are thrilled to join the Predators organization,” Mpofu said. “I want to thank Chris MacFarland for his trust and belief in me. The Predators are a world-class franchise with a promising future, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to help shape the next chapter here in Nashville. I look forward to working alongside two of the game’s best leaders in Chris and Rob Blake, and thank Mr. Haslam for entrusting me to be part of the management team they are assembling.”
The United Arab Emirates-born, Saskatoon-bred executive will be working with a familiar face in Nashville. New executive vice president of hockey operations, Rob Blake, was Mpofu’s boss when Mpofu was the manager of hockey operations and legal affairs for the Los Angeles Kings from 2021 to 2023.