The Nashville Predators added another piece to their front office rebuild Thursday, hiring Hayden Speak as Director of Research and Development.
President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chris MacFarland said Speak will help expand the team’s research models, which are used to evaluate players and teams at multiple levels of hockey, while also building tools that assist the coaching staff with game preparation.
"We are strongly familiar with the type of work Hayden produces, and it speaks for itself,” MacFarland said in an official press release. “We are excited to add another person with significant NHL experience to our ever-expanding hockey analytics department."
Speak arrives after seven seasons with the Los Angeles Kings, where he worked under then-GM and current Predators Executive V.P. of Hockey Ops. Rob Blake. During his time there, he moved from analyst to senior analyst of amateur analytics and eventually became manager of research and development before the 2025-26 season.
His hockey résumé stretches back further than Los Angeles. Speak spent nearly four years as an analyst with the Ontario Hockey League’s Mississauga Steelheads.
He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Central Florida and completed master’s degrees at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Georgia Tech. Born and raised in Orlando, Florida, Speak has spent much of his life around southern culture, and the move to Nashville fits naturally.
The hire is the latest sign that Nashville is widening its approach behind the scenes. The Predators have long leaned toward a more traditional way of operating, often promoting from within and showing strong loyalty to veterans. Under Trotz, the support staff was limited, leaving Nashville with a thin backroom structure.
MacFarland has taken a different tack. He brought in Blake as Executive V.P. of Hockey Ops. and Jamie Langenbrunner as Special Assistant to the GM, then added Vukie Mpofu as Assistant GM and Dawson Sprigings as Assistant to the GM. Some of those names have history with MacFarland or Blake, but the broader effect is clear: more experience in the room and less weight on MacFarland’s shoulders.
Speak’s arrival also reinforces the idea that Nashville is looking for ways to improve beyond the usual player transactions. MacFarland has said developing the prospect pipeline is central to building a winning roster, and Speak’s background makes him a logical fit for that work.
With that group in place, MacFarland will head toward the 2026-27 season with a deeper staff around him. The rumor mill has been relatively quiet lately, and it remains unclear what direction the Predators will take next, but the front office now has a wider range of hockey backgrounds to lean on as it tries to push the organization forward.