Former Colorado Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland is now the president of hockey operations and general manager for the Nashville Predators, and he's acquired yet another player with whom he's already well familiar.
The Predators are acquiring forward Jack Drury from the Avalanche, along with Chase Bradley and a third round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft in return for Zachary L’Heureux and Fedor Svechkov. NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman reported the full trade.
It's the second former Avalanche forward MacFarland has acquired since joining Nashville, as he traded for Ross Colton earlier this month.
Drury was selected by Carolina in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft out of Harvard University. After making his NHL debut in two games during the 2021-22 season, he split time between the Hurricanes and AHL Chicago Wolves before earning a full-time role with Carolina in 2023-24.
But Drury was traded to the Avalanche with Martin Necas, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick in a three-team deal that also involved the Chicago Blackhawks and forwards Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline.
Drury played in 33 games with the Avalanche upon his acquisition, scoring five goals with four assists before contributing another one goal and one assist in their opening round series loss to the Dallas Stars. In his first full year with the Avalanche, Drury scored 10 goals with 17 assists in 82 regular-season games and added three goals and two assists in the postseason as Colorado advanced to the Western Conference Final.
In 268 career NHL games, Drury has scored 30 goals with 52 assists. He'll need a new contract with the Predators, as he can become a restricted free agent on July 1.
