Two moves from the Philadelphia Flyers on Trade Deadline day? You bet!
Philadelphia Flyers General Manager Chuck Fletcher is wheeling and dealing today, gang. Not even a full hour after the team officially announced the acquisition of Nate Thompson from the Montreal Canadiens, the squad confirmed that they’ve also obtained another forward in Derek Grant from the Anaheim Ducks for forward Kyle Criscuolo and a 4th round selection in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Criscuolo spent all of the 2019-20 campaign in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, netting 24 points in 40 games for the club.
Like Thompson, Grant provides the Flyers with more depth to their forward group. The soon-to-be 30-year-old has scored 20 points in 49 games with the Ducks, putting together a nice little campaign of the offensive side of the ice. 14 of those points have been goals, which sat third among all players on Anaheim and now ranks sixth on the Flyers. He’s primarily made his worth in the NHL in the defensive zone, though, boasting a tremendous IQ, stick, physical play-style when skating in his own end, and has skill in the faceoff circle to boot. Grant logged heavy minutes for the Ducks on the penalty kill, as well, leading all forwards with an average of 2:33 minutes of Time on Ice while shorthanded.
The 6’3 centerman, who has the ability to play the wing, will likely slot in on the Bottom-6, either at the third or fourth line positions. It’s unclear who he’ll enter the lineup for, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see a guy like Connor Bunnaman get sent back to the AHL before the day is over. He doesn’t break the bank for Philadelphia, either, possessing a 700k cap hit through the end of the year.
As I said with the Thompson move, though it’s not bold, getting a solid player like Grant for a middle-round pick and an AHL player is nothing to complain about. At worst, he’ll provide Philadelphia with good defensive talent in their Bottom-6.