Luke Glendening ‘thankful’ for Rangers’ belief in giving him opportunity

The Rangers made a move to help bolster their center depth on Thursday afternoon, signing veteran Luke Glendening to a one-year deal. 

Glendening joined the club on a professional tryout earlier this week, and it only took him a couple of days to show that he’s worthy of a roster spot. 

When he does eventually work his way into the lineup, he figures to slide into the fourth-line center opening New York has been looking to fill since losing Joe Veleno to injury. 

“Luke has a significant body of work in this league and has shown the type of player that he is,” Mike Sullivan said. “We’ve got a little bit of a challenge with center depth, we thought we’d bring him in and see if he could help us.”

Glendening doesn’t offer much offensively but he’s been strong in the faceoff dot and a consistent penalty-killer throughout his 11-year pro career. 

He’s coming off a season in which he appeared in 52 games with the Devils before serving as a healthy scratch and landing on waivers, where he landed in Philly. 

The veteran recorded just five points down the stretch with the Flyers, and remained a steady figure in their lineup for all 10 of their playoff games. 

“That reinvigorated me a little bit,” Glendening told reporters. “The journey was kind of windy at times last year, but this game has given me more than I ever could have imagined — it reminded me just how much I love this game.”

That love was put to the test once more this offseason, as he was cut loose by the Lightning after failing earn himself a deal on a PTO during the preseason. 

Instead of packing it in, the 37-year-old continued skating on his own in Tampa, and now will receive one more opportunity to show what he can do with the Blueshirts. 

“I’m always going to want to play,” Glendening said. “I’m not one of those players who’s ever going to get to walk off into the sunset — I’m just so thankful for the Rangers and thankful they believe in me enough to take this opportunity.”