Derek Grant will suit up again in 2020-21. The 30-year-old turned in a fine 2019-20 season and will attempt to do so again in the coming year with a return to the Anaheim Ducks. The terms of the deal are three years at $1.5 million each season. This contract runs through the 2022-23 season.
Abbotsford native Derek Grant to the Ducks.
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) October 9, 2020
Derek Grant Signs with Anaheim
Last season was one of the strongest in Grant’s seven-year career. He scored a career-high 15 goals and 25 points in 56 games split between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Ducks. It was just the second season with more than 20 points so something clearly clicked in his age-29 season. He was also credited with 54 hits and 25 blocks while averaging 13:55 per contest. His possession numbers were dreadful with a 41.3 Corso For and -9.1 relative Corsi but he somehow managed to post fine traditional stats otherwise.
The Ottawa Senators originally selected Grant in the fourth round of the 2008 Draft. He didn’t debut until 2012-13 and his first real season wasn’t until 2016-17. That was the first year Grant played more than 20 games, but it came with just four assists. He will never be a strong offensive option and his physical contributions are lacking as well. There is nothing especially bad about his game but it’s hard to imagine a second consecutive 20+ point campaign considering his underlying numbers and age.
What This Means for the Future
Yes, Grant is nothing exciting and probably won’t be a major factor for his new team but there is still value in a 6′-3″, 215-pound forward. Many teams still find value in someone with that size as a spare forward used in emergency cases. At the very least, Grant won’t cost his new team much money. His previous cap hit was the league minimum of $700,000 and he didn’t receive much of a raise. Look for the 30-year-old to be a regular bottom-six penalty-killer as a 13th or 14 forward. It is highly unlikely 2019-20 was anything more than a fluke season, but nothing about this off-season or the start of next year is normal.
Main Photo:
