Predators Acquire Drury From Avalanche for Svechkov & L’Hereux – The Hockey Writers – NHL News

The Nashville Predators continue to poach talent from the Colorado Avalanche. They brought in center Jack Drury, Chase Bradley, and a 2029 third-round pick from the Avalanche for prospects Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux.

Predators general manager Chris MacFarland reacquired one of his major trade acquisitions over his Avalanche tenure. A week ago, he got forward Ross Colton in exchange for a second- and a third-round pick. Some fans have questions about why Nashville is buying, considering they’ve been in no-man’s land, but Colton and Drury are two energetic forwards that can play minutes in the NHL while prospects like Yegor Surin, Brady Martin, and Felix Nilsson develop in their own leagues.

What the Predators Are Getting

The 26-year-old Drury, nephew of former Avalanche center and New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury, is a solid defensive center. While he doesn’t have a very high offensive ceiling, he notched a career-high 10 goals and 27 points this past season, and he’s a responsible center in his own zone. He earned a plus-15 rating, and he averaged 14:29 of ice time per game.

His best work is in the faceoff circle and on the penalty kill. His 58.1% faceoff win percentage (FO%) was first among Colorado forwards with more than 500 draws, although winger Gabriel Landeskog had the best among all forwards, with 62.3%. Drury also had the second-most time among Avalanche forwards on the penalty kill, with his two minutes per game behind just Parker Kelly.

Drury was acquired by the Avalanche in the Martin Necas-for-Mikko Rantanen deal with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2025. However, he is a pending restricted free agent this offseason, and he’s arbitration-eligible. As a result, Avalanche GM Joe Sakic probably thought it best to trade Drury. The Avalanche no longer have any pending RFAs on their roster.

Bradley was drafted in the seventh round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings, but they never signed him to an entry-level contract, so the Avalanche signed him in 2024. He played in just two NHL games in 2024-25 before dropping down to the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Colorado Eagles that season. He’s AHL depth at this point, scoring nine goals and notching three assists in 43 games for the Eagles last season.

What the Avalanche Are Getting

The Avalanche get back an intriguing group of older forward prospects. Svechkov, 23, was selected in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft, and although he has yet to live up to that pedigree, he’s been solid depth. He has 12 goals and 34 points in 122 games over the past two seasons.

His faceoff numbers are nowhere near as good as Drury’s, as he owns a 40.5% career FO%. Overall, he’s a player still trying to find his role in the NHL, even though he’s made it to the show. He doesn’t excel at any area of the game, and he hasn’t shown as much offensive production as his selection would’ve suggested.

L’Heureux, also 23, became a fan favorite last season for his mean streak. He was a spark plug in the bottom six, with five goals, 15 points, and 198 hits throughout the campaign.

Unfortunately, he didn’t quite reach that production in 2025-26. He split time between Nashville and the AHL Milwaukee Admirals. With the Admirals, he scored 14 goals and earned 28 points in 30 games, but he had just four goals and an assist in 25 games for Nashville this season. He’ll have to start the season on the Avalanche’s roster unless they flip him, given he’ll require waivers to be demoted to the AHL again.

Svechkov and L’Heureux are both cost-controlled forwards, with Svechkov signed at $1.25 million and L’Heureux signed at $875,000. They’re both signed through 2027-28 as well.

Cap Outlook

With this move, the Nashville Predators have over $23.5 million to work with for next season. They have a few RFAs who are extension-eligible next season, like Luke Evangelista and Matthew Wood, but they have plenty of cap space to get that done.

Meanwhile, Colorado’s at just around $4.85 million in cap space, with Brett Burns, Joel Kiviranta, Brett Kulak, and Nick Blankenburg set to hit free agency. They might also need to discuss contract extensions for Scott Wedgewood, Nicholas Roy, and Artturi Lehkonen next season, so there might be another move to clear up cap space. If Sakic needs to make that move, MacFarland will probably be one of the first GMs he calls.