Toronto Maple Leafs: Luke Glendening to Toronto a non-starter

Despite TSN reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have inquired about Luke Glendening, the versatile forward will not end up in Southern Ontario.

With the trade deadline now just over a week away, speculation is only expected to increase from this point on. This will include a plethora of reports surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs, especially given the market’s thirst for information on the team.

Whether these reports have any validity or not is another thing altogether. Regardless, we will always take an objective approach to analyzing them.

The latest such rumor involves Luke Glendening. TSN‘s Frank Servalli reports that the Leafs — along with the Dallas Stars — have apparently asked about the forward.

Certainly, you can understand why the Leafs would have inquired about Glendening. After all, he has a history with Mike Babcock, having played under the former Detroit Red Wings’ head coach for a couple of seasons.

The 28-year-old has good defensive instincts and excellent work ethic. In addition, the Leafs could definitely use a new fourth-line centre, especially one who has a career-high 57.8 faceoff win percentage this season.

Throw in Glendening’s versatility and a reasonable cap hit of $1.88 million per season, and the stars are theoretically aligning. However, you still have to question if trading for him is really the solution?

For a start, the East Grand Rapids, Michigan native is not exactly renowned for his offensive production. He has just 74 points in 337 NHL games, with a career-high of 21 points during the 2015-16 season.

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Glendening is also not particularly effective, when it comes to puck possession. As noted by Mike Stephens of Editor in Leaf, he has a 44.5% CF/60 at 5v5 this season.

As for the veteran’s contract, while the cap hit is theoretically not an issue, the length of his deal is. He still has three seasons remaining on the four-year extension he signed in July 2016.

You can also ask if Glendening is actually an upgrade over the current options the Leafs have as a fourth-line centre? As Pension Plan Puppets suggest, they could even move Leo Komarov back over to the position.

As a final note in all of this, the very fact the rumor is out there, should give some idea of its validity. Lou Lamoriello is airtight when it comes to keeping potential trades under wraps.

Ultimately, we appreciate why there would be a rumored connection between the Leafs and Glendening. However, it’s a non-starter when it comes to this speculation actually turning a reality.

Next: Leafs still interested in Chris Tanev

What do you make of the apparent interest in Glendening? Do you believe there’s a genuine chance of the forward joining the Leafs, or have you already dismissed the speculation? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.