It seems as though Chris MacFarland continues to work for the Colorado Avalanche. On Wednesday, the Predators agreed to a swap involving RFA forward Jack Drury, one that allows the Avs to solve a potential cap issue.
The Avalanche sent the 26-year-old Drury to Nashville, along with prospect Chase Bradley and a 2029 third-round pick, for two former first-round picks, Fyodor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux.
Now, the question begs: Why would Colorado trade Drury? He’s a solid bottom-six center and has proven to be a decent depth option.
The answer lies in his next contract. Likely, the Avalanche and Drury’s camp were nowhere close on a potential contract extension. It’s worth noting that Drury is represented by Pat Brisson. Brisson is renowned for helping his clients cash in.
As such, it was unlikely the Avalanche were going to meet Drury’s price tag. It’s unclear what that price tag was, but it was likely going to be somewhere in the $3 million to $4 million range. That sort of cap hit would have been too much for Colorado’s liking, especially if Drury was looking for a long-term deal.
That’s why Nashville GM Chris MacFarland did the Avalanche a solid in this deal. Instead of dumping Drury’s contract on somebody else for a seventh-round pick, the Avalanche actually got two decent players out of it.
First, they got younger by getting the 23-year-old Svechkov to replace Drury. Svechkov was a former first-round pick from the 2021 NHL Draft. In 2024-25, his first full season, Svechkov scored eight goals and 17 points in 52 games. He equaled that point total last season, but it took him 70 games to do it.
As such, the Predators likely felt that they needed an upgrade. Drury certainly seems to fit that mold. Most importantly, Svechkov comes with a two-year deal carrying a $1.25 million cap hit. That’s the type of cost-certainty the Avalanche were hoping to get from Drury. It didn’t seem like they were, so they ended up getting it from Svechkov.
Avalanche, Predators swap depth wingers
Where it seems like the Avalanche really won this deal was in the swap of depth wingers. Colorado got L’Heureux, another former first-round pick from 2021. L’Heureux played 62 games in his first season, 2024-25, scoring five goals and 15 points. He only appeared in 25 games this past season, notching four goals and five points.
That’s not bad from a guy who figures to be a bottom-six grinder for the Avalanche. And it’s a significant upgrade over Bradley, who was a seventh-round pick. Bradley has all of two games of NHL experience and doesn’t figure to be an NHL forward anytime soon. Perhaps he gets that chance in Nashville.
As for L’Heureux, he also comes with two years of cost-certainty at $875K per season. That’s fantastic, particularly since the Avs still need to round out the blue line. L’Heureux should get a shot to make the team this fall. There’s potentially an open spot on the fourth line. If he doesn’t, L’Heureux will make a great addition to the Colorado Eagles.
Following Wednesday’s trade, the Avs have a little under $5 million in cap space. It remains to be seen if that will be enough to re-sign Brett Kulak and Brent Burns. Otherwise, Joe Sakic may look at the free-agent market to find other depth options to complete the defense corps.
Of course, the biggest item on the docket will be extending Cale Makar.
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