Raptors Get Drury Over Avalanche for Svechkov & L’Hereux – Hockey Writers – NHL News

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

Predators general manager Chris MacFarland also acquired one of his biggest trade assets during his time with the Avalanche. Last week, he acquired forward Ross Colton in exchange for second and third round picks. Some fans question why Nashville is making the purchase, considering they’ve been in no man’s land for a long time, but Colton and Drury are two dynamic forwards who can play minutes in the NHL while prospects like Yegor Surin, Brady Martin, and Felix Nilsson develop in their respective leagues.

What Predators Get

The 26-year-old Drury, who is the nephew of former Avalanche center and New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury, is a strong defensive center. Although he doesn’t have the highest offensive wall, he scored a team-high 10 goals and 27 points this past season, and is a responsible center in his position. He averaged 15 rebounds, and 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 winning percentage (FO%) was first among Colorado players with more than 500 faceoffs, although winger Gabriel Landeskog had the best of all forwards, at 62.3%. Drury also had the second most time among Avalanche forwards on the penalty kill, with his two minutes per game behind 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 is eligible for arbitration. 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 just two NHL games in 2024-25 before pitching to the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Colorado Eagles that season. He’s deep in the AHL right now, scoring nine goals and adding three assists in 43 games for the Eagles last season.

What You Get Avalanche

The Avalanche are getting an interesting group of aging top prospects. Svechkov, 23, was selected in the first round of the 2021 NHL Draft, and while he hasn’t reached that pedigree, he’s had 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 has a 40.5% FO%. All in all, he’s a player still trying to find his role in the NHL, despite being on the show. He does not excel in any area of ​​the game, and has never shown offensive qualities as his selection would suggest.

L’Heureux, also 23 years old, was a fan favorite last season with his offensive range. He was a spark in the bottom six, with five goals, 15 points, and 198 hits during the campaign.

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

Svechkov and L’Heureux are both cost-restricted forwards, with Svechkov signing for $1.25 million and L’Heureux signing for $875,000. Both are signed through 2027-28 as well.

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With this move, the Nashville Predators have over $23.5 million to work with next season. They have a few RFAs eligible for extensions next season, like Luke Evangelista and Matthew Wood, but they have plenty of room to do so.

Meanwhile, Colorado has nearly $4.85 million in cap space, with Brett Burns, Joel Kiviranta, Brett Kulak, and Nick Blankenburg set to hit free agency. They may also need to negotiate contract extensions for Scott Wedgewood, Nicholas Roy, and Artturi Lehkonen next season, in order to make another move to open up cap space. If Sakic needs to do that, MacFarland will likely be one of the first GMs he calls.