The Dallas Stars addressed another item on their free agency check list with the signing of 32-year-old center Luke Glendening to a two-year, $1.5 million average annual value contract. The eight-year NHL veteran has played his entire career with the Detroit Red Wings to this point.
Glendening is generally considered a defensive specialist. He plays a lot of penalty killing minutes, something that the Stars were in need of with the departures of Andrew Cogliano to free agency and Jason Dickinson to trade this summer. He is a top-tier faceoff guy, consistently putting up 54% or higher faceoff win percentages over the last six years. That’s an emphasized component of killing off penalties — if the opposition can’t win the puck, they can’t stay in the offensive zone.
This signing doesn’t do a lot to address depth scoring for the Stars. But like many moves on the opening day of free agency, it’s important to wait til the dust settles to get a clear picture of all of the moves and what the totality looks like.
From the Stars:
FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that the club has signed forward Luke Glendening to a two-year contract worth $3,000,000 with an annual average value (AAV) of $1,500,000.
Glendening, 32, registered 15 points (6-9=15) in 54 regular-season games with Detroit in 2020-21. The forward finished the season ranked second in the NHL and led Detroit with a career-high 60.9% faceoff win percentage, going 523-for-859 from the faceoff dot. Glendening also shared fifth on the Red Wings with nine assists and was tied for first on the team with a +3 plus/minus rating. Additionally, he led club forwards and ranked third among all Detroit skaters with 57 blocked shots, while he finished fourth on the squad with 68 hits.
The eight-season NHL veteran has amassed 126 points (57-69=126) in 554 career regular-season games, all with Detroit. Glendening has also made three appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, registering five points (3-2=5) in 17 career postseason contests.
“Luke is a hard-working, detailed player that is very productive in all areas of the game,” said Nill. “He is elite in the faceoff circle, he is a shot-blocking machine and he will play a big role on our penalty kill.”
Internationally, the forward represented Team USA at the 2019 World Championship, recording two assists (0-2=2) and a +3 rating in eight games.
The 5-foot-11, 191-pound native of Grand Rapids, Michigan was originally undrafted and signed as a free agent by Detroit on July 5, 2013.