There’s a new name circling the Oilers, and it’s one that fits a very specific need: Luke Glendening.
The rumour is Edmonton is looking at bringing in the veteran right-shot center, a player who can step into a No. 4 role for the 2026-27 season. Glendening is 37, he’s fast, and he doesn’t come with a big price tag.
He also brings a track record that makes sense for a team looking to shore up the middle of the lineup: a 55.6 faceoff percentage over a 13-year NHL career and a regular spot on the penalty kill. After the trade deadline last season with the Flyers, he won 67 percent of his faceoffs.
For Edmonton, the appeal is obvious. A right-handed center would fill a need, and adding Glendening would also create room to send Josh Samanski to the minors. It would also be an early clue about how Mike Babcock sees the roster.
That said, this is the kind of move that says as much about where a team is shopping as it does about the player himself. Glendening may not be flashy, but he’s productive, and the Oilers are clearly looking in the right aisles. The comparison to Josh Brown comes up here too: both players suggest Babcock is still figuring out what he has in front of him.
There’s also a little bit of old-versus-new thinking baked into the whole conversation. Some fans gravitate toward the shiny new thing, while others know the value of the tried and true. Glendening fits squarely in that second group.
On the Lowdown today, Janson Duench, the new writer and Oilers reporter at The Athletic, is set to join the show at 12:40 to talk about the season, what he’s looking forward to covering, and how he got to this point. Bagged Milk will also be on at 1 p.m., making it a full afternoon of Oilers talk from noon to 2 p.m. on Sports 1440 and YouTube.
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