{"id":863187,"date":"2026-08-21T12:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T12:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/863187\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T12:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T12:34:10","slug":"oilers-could-find-an-unexpected-answer-in-13-year-nhl-veteran-after-intriguing-pto-suggestion-gains-attention-nhl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/863187\/","title":{"rendered":"Oilers could find an unexpected answer in 13-year NHL veteran after intriguing PTO suggestion gains attention | NHL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Oilers The Edmonton Oilers have added several new faces this offseason, but their work may not be finished. One area still worth watching is the fourth-line center role, where extra competition could help before the 2026-27 season begins. That has opened the door to an intriguing professional tryout option involving veteran forward Luke Glendening. The 13-year NHL veteran is coming off a season split between the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers, and his defensive game, faceoff ability and experience could make him worth a closer look. For Edmonton, a PTO would offer a simple way to test whether Glendening still has something to give.<\/p>\n

Why could Luke Glendening make sense for the Oilers?<\/p>\n

The suggestion came from Oilers Nation’s Tyler Yaremchuk, who believes Edmonton should consider Glendening for a PTO while looking for more depth down the middle.\u201cThat\u2019s really the only area I\u2019d be looking at when it comes to PTOs: penalty-killing fourth-line centres (and preferably ones who shoot right),\u201d Yaremchuk wrote. \u201cGlendening is interesting because he has a history with Mike Babcock, having played for him during the first two seasons of his career in Detroit.\u201dThat connection adds an interesting layer, but Glendening’s potential value goes beyond familiarity with Babcock. He has built his career around defensive responsibility, penalty killing and winning important faceoffs. Those are not glamorous numbers, yet they matter for a team trying to get more from its bottom six.Glendening’s 2025-26 season was uneven on paper. He played 52 games for New Jersey and finished without a goal, recording four assists and 66 hits. After the trade deadline, however, his situation changed when Philadelphia claimed him off waivers.<\/p>\n

What did Luke Glendening show with the Flyers last season?<\/p>\n

The Flyers gave Glendening a smaller sample, but it was a much more encouraging one. He appeared in 18 games and produced two goals and five points while winning 57.2% of his faceoffs.That faceoff number stands out because it points to a role Edmonton could use. A fourth-line center does not need to produce at a top-six rate. He needs to handle defensive assignments, contribute on the penalty kill and give his team reliable shifts when the game gets difficult.Glendening also became a dependable presence on Philadelphia’s fourth line. That makes a PTO a sensible gamble for Edmonton. There would be little downside to bringing him into camp and letting him compete for a spot rather than committing to a contract immediately.The Oilers have already added Frederik Anderson, Devon Levi, Ryan Shea, Shakir Mukhamadullin and Mathieu Joseph this offseason. Still, another experienced forward could strengthen their options.If Glendening performs well enough to earn a one-year deal, Edmonton would also gain a veteran voice in a room with serious expectations. At 13 years into his NHL career, he knows what a bottom-six role demands. The bigger question is whether his defensive value and faceoff work remain strong enough to justify another season.A PTO would give the Oilers a chance to find out without taking much of a financial risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Edmonton Oilers have added several new faces this offseason, but their work may not be finished. One…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":863188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,14689,3275,356922,7519,575,432445,85],"class_list":["post-863187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-edmonton","tag-edmonton-oilers","tag-luke-glendening","tag-new-jersey-devils","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-veteran","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}