The Rangers’ first potential reinforcement has arrived.
Veteran center Luke Glendening signed a professional tryout agreement with the Blueshirts on Monday, The Post first reported. The signing comes on the heels of fourth-line center Joe Veleno going on long-term injured reserve for up to 3 ¹/₂ months with a lower-body injury.
Despite not being eligible to play in the Rangers matchup with the Ducks at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, Glendening joined the team immediately and participated in morning skate.
“Luke obviously has a significant body of work in the league and the type of player that he is,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s a reliable, conscientious player. Kills penalties. Really good in the faceoff circle. He built a career on that element of his game and prides himself on that. Obviously, we’ve got a little bit of a challenge with respect to depth of the center position. I think Chris and his guys thought that we bring him in and see if potentially he could help us.”
Glendening played for the Devils and Flyers last season. After turning a PTO into a one-year contract in Newark, the 37-year-old was waived by the Devils and claimed by Philadelphia in March.
He scored two goals, with seven assists and a 52.9 faceoff win percentage in 70 games between the two clubs. Over his 13-year career, Glendening has been strong at the dots with a career faceoff win percentage of 55.6.
The Rangers have signed Luke Glendening to a PTO. NHLI via Getty Images
A veteran of more than 930 games, Glendening spent the first eight seasons of his NHL career playing for his home team, the Red Wings. It was during his time in Detroit that Glendening established himself as a high-end penalty killer.
At the end of his tenure in Detroit, Glendening led all players in short-handed ice time by a margin of more than 250 minutes.
He has since made stops in Dallas, Tampa Bay, New Jersey and Philly.
As of this season, a midseason PTO lasts for a maximum of 10 days under the collective bargaining agreement. Players aren’t allowed to play in games.
If another NHL team makes a contract offer during the PTO, his team has a right of first refusal to match the contract within 48 hours.
Tampa Bay signed Glendening to a PTO at the start of training camp last month, but the Lightning released him before the start of the regular season.
The one-year contract Glendening signed with the Devils last year was worth the league minimum of $775,000. This season, the league minimum is $850,000.