- Rangers sign Luke Glendening to a one-year, $850,000 contract
- The 37-year-old center turned his Monday tryout into a full NHL deal
- Read below for his faceoff numbers and where New York’s center depth stands
Luke Glendening is officially a Ranger.
New York signed the 37-year-old center to a one-year, $850,000 contract Thursday, per NHL.com. That turns the professional tryout he signed on Monday into a standard NHL deal, which means he can now play in regular-season games.
The tryout was his second of the fall. The Lightning released him from their PTO on Sept. 25 without a contract, and he landed in New York a few weeks later.
Glendening’s value is in the faceoff circle. He has won 57.5 percent of his draws since the start of the 2020-21 season, which ranks ninth in the NHL among players with at least 1,000 faceoffs. He also kills penalties and takes the defensive-zone draws.
Last season he split 70 games between the Devils and Flyers and finished with two goals and seven assists.
The Rangers have an obvious opening for him. Joe Veleno is on long-term injured reserve, which left Mika Zibanejad, JT Miller and Noah Laba as the top three centers when the tryout began, with Justin Dowling filling in on the fourth line. Rookie Cole Beaudoin got four games in that spot before he returned to Hartford.
Glendening came up with the Red Wings, who signed him as an undrafted free agent on July 5, 2013. He has 175 points (85 goals, 90 assists) in 934 regular-season games across Detroit, Dallas, Tampa Bay, New Jersey and Philadelphia, plus 11 points in 60 playoff games.
At $850,000, the league minimum, the contract barely touches the cap. The fourth-line center job is the one he was brought in to win.
