As much as the Detroit Red Wings re-signing Luke Glendening makes sense, there are stumbling blocks to consider.
Glendening, 32, is poised to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He’s coming off a four-year, $7.2 million contract with a $1.8 million salary cap hit. Since the contract went into effect, Glendening has recorded 33 goals, 33 assists and a minus-38 rating in 261 games. His faceoff percentage in that time span is 57.5%, which ranks fourth in the NHL among centers who have taken at least 3,000 faceoffs.
Glendening has been with the organization since signing as a free agent with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2012. Prior to that, he spent four years playing for Michigan, where he went from walk-on to serving as captain his junior and senior seasons.
He has built his professional and personal life in Michigan.
“Growing up in Grand Rapids, and then being able to be here my whole career so far, is a dream come true,” Glendening said during media exit interviews in late May. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I love being a Red Wing. We’ll see what happens here, but every day that I get to put on a Red Wings sweater is a special day to me. I love being part of the organization.”
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Glendening is a leader on and off the ice, an alternate captain who helps maintain the locker room culture of which the Wings are so protective. Re-signing him seems a lock, but as always, there are factors at play.
One is whether another team will make Glendening an offer Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is not willing to match. There’s been annual interest in Glendening at the trade deadline, because of his faceoff prowess, speed and sound defensive instincts.
Former general manager Ken Holland extended Glendening in July 2016, so this would be the first time Glendening has hit the market. While the flat salary cap caused by the pandemic has left some teams with little wiggle room, there are plenty who have room to maneuver. Another team could offer more money or more years — or both — than fits into Yzerman’s plan.
That team could be the Seattle Kraken, which under expansion rules has an exclusive window, July 18-21, to negotiate with pending UFAs that aren’t on the protection lists that all clubs except the Vegas Golden Knights must submit July 17. In such an event, Glendening would count as the player the Wings lose in the expansion draft.
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Another factor is that Yzerman’s priority in making next season’s team more competitive is adding offense. The Wings averaged 2.23 goals-per-game this past season, ranking second from the bottom. In fairness, Tyler Bertuzzi missed all but nine games because of a back injury, and COVID-19 along with injuries to others including Bobby Ryan, Robby Fabbri and Dylan Larkin played into that dismal number. But that doesn’t change the need to add more scoring power, and that is not Glendening’s forte.
Glendening’s assets are on draws and defense, and he’s become an integral part of the leadership in the locker room. There’s certainly a fit for him with the Wings, but in order for it to make sense, he’s likely looking at a contract in the two-year range, for around $1.25 million annually. But there may be richer offers available that could lead Glendening elsewhere.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.