REPORT: Stars, Leafs Calling About Luke Glendening

Trade season is an exciting time! At any moment, a tweet can go out that will cause a fan base to get all jittery and hopeful. Today’s tweet is courtesy of Frank Seravalli:

This is the first time that I’ve heard Glendening’s name surface in trade talk, but it certainly supports the notion that everyone is on the table except for Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha.

Glendening is the epitome of a fourth line grinder, something we all know Mike Babcock loves. With fourteen points, he’s enjoying one of the most offensive seasons of his career. He’ll almost certainly surpass his career-high of 12 goals from 2014-15.

But Glendening isn’t around for his scoring touch. He plays tough match-ups against some of the league’s best players. He leads the Red Wings with a 57.8 faceoff win percentage and starts 44% of his shifts in the defensive zone. In addition to this, he is one of Detroit’s best and most-used penalty killers.

Glendening is a fine player, but his contract is an issue for Detroit. He’s set to make $7.2-million over the course of the next three years, with a cap hit of $1.8-million. It would be really nice for Detroit to get out of that as they head into what’s bound to be a difficult offseason of negotiations.

That’s why it worries me that Seravalli says the Wings aren’t going to give him away. They must have really been low-balled to try and drive the price of him up. I’d be more than happy with a 3rd round pick in return, but reality is more likely a 4th or 5th.

Neither the Leafs or the Stars are hurting in the PK department, so they’re really looking for center depth at 5-on-5. We can all attest to how much Babcock loved Glendening’s play, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see him go to Toronto. The Wings shouldn’t hold out if an offer’s on the table. Let’s start stripping it down and creating some cap space to  re-sign the youth next season.

What are your thoughts on Luke Glendening? What should Detroit get in return for him?