The Nashville Predators have made several moves this offseason, one of the most notable being a trade for Jack Drury. Chris MacFarland knows him well from their days in Colorado and showed how much he believes in him by signing him to a five-year contract less than a week after trading for him.
Separate from the contract being as pricey and lengthy as it is, MacFarland's words at the podium the day after the trade prove just how highly he thinks of Drury. Even though the GM certainly has no doubts about his decision, many of fans had and still have reservations.
Drury is a great defensive player, but he has always left a lot to be desired offensively and has never scored more than 10 goals in a single season. That being said, he is only 26 years old and has some key intangibles, so he brings plenty to the table even for the lack of offense.
Jack Drury will be a stabilizing presence for Nashville Predators from the start
Drury has a good chance to hit career highs in goals and point totals throughout his time in Nashville, but nobody should expect him to be truly prolific in that regard. He was brought in to become a bottom six center, will certainly start this year in that role, and if he never truly ascends in the lineup, that is not a bad thing.
Drury does a lot of the stuff that does not get raved about as much, most notably highlighted by his defense, as previously mentioned. He did so well in that regard last year that he finished 38th in Selke Trophy voting, and his underlying numbers are off the charts, proving that he is a defensive game changer.
He is also tremendous in the faceoff dot, never having won fewer than 53.2% of his draws in any of his seasons played. His forechecking and overall IQ are other areas of his game that stand out, so much so that he became truly invaluable to the Colorado Avalanche, even in a bottom six role.
While Drury still is likely to stay in a bottom six role on the Predators, his role can only be bigger in Nashville than it was in Colorado. The depth of the Avs made it so that the third line was his ceiling there, but the current roster in Nashville should make that his floor, and he should have some good support around him.
He will almost certainly play alongside Ross Colton, who he played with in Colorado, and they played well together, so that familiarity can only help. Jonathan Marchessault is likely to play on the other side as long as he is still in Nashville, as the forward core is pretty crowded and someone notable will be left out of the top six.
If it is not Marchessault, it will probably be one of Matthew Wood or Mavrik Bourque. It is a situation where Drury's lime mates are expected to be a familiar partner and either a tenacious veteran who was won a Conn Smythe Trophy fairly recently, or a promising young player, which is favorable from a center's perspective.
That along with his own skills, young age, and potentially elevated role are valid reasons to believe that Drury could have a career year in terms of impact. You always have to be realistic about the adjustment of players starting on new teams, and he does not have to have a true career year in order to be successful, but the fact is the opportunity is there for him.
Even if his performance is similar to recent past seasons, Drury is the epitome of someone who will make the Predators tougher to play against by just doing what he does best. It will especially make a difference that he will do it at the center position, where the Predators have been weak for years.
Add us as a preferred source on Google