Mutual Trust: Why Chris MacFarland Believes in Jack Drury
Predators GM Chris MacFarland believes Jack Drury can help shape the Predators on and off the ice.
On June 24, Predators President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chris MacFarland made one of the organization's biggest offseason moves, sending Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L'Heureux to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Jack Drury, Chase Bradley, and a 2029 third-round pick.
Practically speaking, the trade makes sense for both teams. The Avalanche gain young talent and buys the team some much-needed cap space. The Predators add center depth in a sparse age bracket.
For MacFarland and Drury, however, the move is built on far more than age and dollars. It's rooted in mutual trust.
“I have a ton of respect for C Mac,” Drury said on Thursday. “Out of all the people I’ve met in hockey, he’s up at the top with people I respect the most.”
That respect goes both ways. MacFarland first acquired Drury in Colorado via a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2025, and C Mac wasted no time added him to Nashville’s roster.
“[Drury] is an elite two-way defensive center who, if he’s not one of the best defensive guys in the league, I don’t know who is,” MacFarland said.
During the 2025-26 regular season, Drury scored 10 goals and totaled 27 points while finishing with a +15 rating.
“He’s not a 25 goal scorer, 60 point guy but is elite defensively. Like elite,” MacFarland emphasized.
“That ability for a coach to throw out a center against the other team’s top players and feel comfortable doing so on the road is massive.”
MacFarland’s regard for Drury goes well beyond his on-ice play.
“He’s a culture changer,” Nashville’s GM said. “He’s a competitive guy on and off the ice that does the right things day in, day out, that helps teams win hockey games.”
Drury comes by that work ethic naturally. His father played eight seasons in the NHL, his mother was a standout lacrosse player at Harvard, and both were inducted into the Harvard Athletics Hall of Fame. Their examples continue to shape how Drury approaches his NHL career.
“Watching them in their lives, I’ve learned more than anything they’ve said to me directly,” Drury shared.
“It’s their consistency, and they preach that to me too. Sometimes people can just look at the big game you win or look at the end of the season and you say ‘Oh they just won that big game’, but it’s really throughout an entire season and nine, ten months of every single day showing up and being great.”
“That’s what separates the good players from the average and the great teams from the average team,” Drury said.
MacFarland has seen Drury walk out that philosophy in Colorado and sees how valuable that example will be for a Nashville team with plenty of young players working their way into the league.
“What Jack does off the ice and what he’ll do for the young players is really, really important long term,” MacFarland said.
Drury hasn’t spent much time playing on a team with a lot of youth. During his time in Carolina and Colorado, his teams were veteran heavy.
“The teams I’ve been on recently, I haven’t played with a ton of up and coming young stars, and I know the Preds have some of that talent,” Drury said.
“I think it’ll be great to see both ends of the spectrum there.”
MacFarland has great respect for how Drury has carved out a valuable role for himself on and off the ice. Drury is ready to show that trust is well placed again here in Nashville.
“He’s shown a lot of faith in my ability, and I certainly want to deliver for him,” Drury said of MacFarland.
“Incredibly excited that he’s brought me over with him again. I want to prove that it was a good decision, and that I was worth it.”