Luke Glendening returns to Lightning on PTO

A familiar face is returning to the Sunshine State.

On Wednesday, Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois announced that forward Luke Glendening will be attending the team’s training camp on a professional tryout.

It’s a similar situation for Glendening, who arrived at the New Jersey Devils‘ camp last fall on a PTO, earning himself a one-year contract. That deal had a cap hit of $775,000. The East Grand Rapids, Mich. native didn’t spend the entire 2025-26 campaign with the Devils. Just before the trade deadline, the veteran center was placed on waivers and was claimed by the Philadelphia Flyers.

With his new team, Glendening found a rhythm, scoring two goals and five points in 18 regular-season games and helping the Flyers secure third place in the Metropolitan Division, clinching a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in six years. The University of Michigan product scored a goal in 10 postseason contests, as Philadelphia made it to the second round before falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.

In 70 overall games last year, Glendening scored two goals and seven assists for nine points.

The 37-year-old is trying to make the Bolts roster for the second time in his career. He spent two seasons with the Lightning from 2023-25, scoring 14 goals and four assists for 18 points in 158 regular-season affairs, adding two points in 10 postseason games.

Glendening has a good shot at getting back on the team. The Lightning have just 14 rostered NHL players for this year, with over $30.6 million in projected cap space, according to PuckPedia.

In 934 regular-season games in the NHL, Glendening has posted 85 goals and 90 assists for 175 points, with another 11 points in 60 playoff contests.