Onward to trade number two for the Philadelphia Flyers, Derek Grant has been acquired from the Anaheim Ducks for Kyle Criscuolo and a 2020 fourth-round pick. This is the second move during the NHL Trade Deadline for the Flyers after trading a 2021 fifth-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens for Nate Thompson. With the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Kyle Criscuolo was a sentimental favorite for some Flyers fans, hailing from Southhampton, New Jersey. The 27-year-old will bring his game to the west coast in California, vying for a roster spot with the Ducks. Grant is an exceptional addition in Philadelphia late in the 2019-2020 regular season.
This is a center-for-center exchange between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks do get the younger of the two players, but the age difference is just a couple of years. Derek Grant, 29-years-old, has proven more at the NHL level than Kyle Criscuolo. In the 2017-2018 NHL regular season, Criscuolo received his only playing time in the NHL. That time spanned nine games with the Buffalo Sabres where Criscuolo averaged eight minutes of ice time and didn’t record a point.
Derek Grant’s contract shows $700k this season, which is already a better value for production than the Nate Thompson trade with the Montreal Canadiens earlier this morning. With the Anaheim Ducks this season, Grant has played in 49 games, tallied 20 points, scored four game-winning goals, and won 51.4% of his faceoffs. In comparison to a player on the Philadelphia Flyers already, his productivity matches Scott Laughton. What stands out about Grant is his ability to be a game-changer on the penalty kill, like Kevin Hayes. Hayes has four short-handed goals this season while Grant has three. If Grant can make a good impression with the Flyers for the rest of this season, he could be in Orange and Black next year.
Salute to the Anaheim Ducks for being sellers this season while on the outside looking in on the NHL post-season. Gaining assets and rebuilding is the direction that the Ducks are moving in with GM Bob Murray. This isn’t the first time that Derek Grant has been productive with Anaheim, so it tells me that the Philadelphia Flyers won this trade. Grant is on pace for a career-high in points this season at a low cost in exchange for Kyle Criscuolo. Don’t expect Grant to go for $700k next season, but he wouldn’t be a costly name to stick around on the Flyers roster into the 2020-2021 season if all continues as projected.
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