NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Nashville Predators signed forward Jack Drury to a five-year, US$22.5 million contract on Sunday, four days after he was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche.

The 26-year-old Drury had a career-high 10 goals last season and matched his personal best with 27 points while playing in all 82 regular-season games for the Avalanche.

He was acquired by the Predators on Wednesday along with forward Chase Bradley and a third-round pick in the 2029 NHL draft from the Avalanche for forwards Zachary L’Heureux and Fedor Svechkov.

“Jack Drury is a hard-working, reliable, full-sheet of the ice centre who can handle the tough assignments while being elite in the faceoff circle,” Predators general manager and president of hockey operations Chris MacFarland said after the trade. “His addition to our forward group bolsters our depth in the middle of the ice, and we’re thrilled to have him.”

Drury established himself as one of the NHL’s top faceoff players by winning 58.1 per cent of his draws — the fifth-highest percentage among players who took at least 900 faceoffs last season. He also had three goals and two assists in 13 playoff games while helping the Avalanche reach the Western Conference Final.

Drury is the son of former NHL centre Ted Drury and nephew of former NHL centre and current New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury. He was a second-round draft pick of Carolina in 2018. When MacFarland was with Colorado as the Avalanche’s GM, he acquired Drury from the Hurricanes in 2025.

In 268 career regular-season games, Drury has 30 goals and 52 assists and a 57.1 faceoff percentage.

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