Grant, born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, on Feb. 21, 1946, made his NHL debut with the Canadiens on Jan. 29, 1966, but spent the 1966-67 season and most of 1967-68 with Houston of the Central Hockey League before being recalled by the Canadiens. Grant had seven points (three goals, four assists) in 22 games with Montreal and had three assists in 10 Stanley Cup Playoff games, helping the Canadiens win the Cup in 1968, their third championship in four seasons.
The Canadiens traded Grant to the North Stars on June 10, 1968. Still technically a rookie in 1968-69, he took advantage of the opportunity to play regularly, finishing with 65 points (34 goals, 31 assists) and being voted the winner of the Calder Trophy.
Grant scored at least 29 goals in four of the next five seasons for the North Stars and played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1969, 1970 and 1971, but had his best season after being traded to the Detroit Red Wings on Aug. 27, 1974. Playing on a line with Marcel Dionne, Grant scored 50 goals and had 87 points in 1974-75, but Detroit failed to make the playoffs.
He ruptured a muscle in his thigh in December 1975 and missed most of the remainder of the season. Grant was plagued by injuries for most of the rest of his NHL career, which included a reunion with Dionne after being traded to the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 9, 1978. He retired after the 1978-79 season with 536 points (263 goals, 273 assists) in 736 NHL games, and 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 43 playoff games.
Grant went on to coach the University of New Brunswick and Halifax of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, then became an assistant at St. Thomas University in his hometown. An arena in Fredericton is named the Grant-Harvey Centre in honor of Grant and fellow Fredericton native Fred Harvey, a teammate with the North Stars in the 1970s.
