Luke Glendening

Lucas Glendening
Born	(1989-04-28) April 28, 1989 East Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Professional ice hockey forward
Known for	Playing for New Jersey Devils, Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL

Lucas Glendening (born April 28, 1989) is a professional American ice hockey forward currently playing for the New Jersey Devils in the National Hockey League (NHL). His NHL career also includes stints with the Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Amateur

Glendening’s hockey journey started in his hometown of East Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he led his varsity team in scoring for two seasons during his four years at East Grand Rapids High School. He further developed his skills during a postgraduate year at The Hotchkiss School. Following that, he competed in NCAA hockey over four seasons (2008–2012) with the Michigan Wolverines at the University of Michigan.

In his second collegiate year, Glendening took on the role of alternate captain, tallying seven goals and 14 assists across 45 games. The Wolverines finished seventh in the CCHA but rallied to win six consecutive games, capturing the 2010 CCHA men's ice hockey tournament title and securing a spot in the NCAA tournament. They advanced past Bemidji State in the Midwest Regional before falling 3–2 in double overtime to Miami.

During his junior season, Glendening served as co-captain alongside Carl Hagelin, appearing in all 44 contests while contributing eight goals and 10 assists. Michigan claimed first place in the CCHA and received an NCAA at-large bid despite a semifinal exit in the conference tournament. The Wolverines swept both Nebraska-Omaha and Colorado College to win the NCAA West Regional, then defeated North Dakota, 2–0, to reach the Frozen Four championship game. Their season ended with a 3–2 overtime loss to Minnesota-Duluth.

In his final year as captain, Glendening posted career-best numbers with 10 goals and 11 assists over 41 games. Michigan finished tied for second in the CCHA and earned an NCAA at-large bid after falling to Western Michigan in the CCHA Championship Game. The Wolverines were eliminated in the regional semifinals by Cornell, losing 3–2 in overtime.

Professional

On June 19, 2012, Glendening signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League (AHL). In the 2012–13 AHL season, he appeared in 51 regular-season games for Grand Rapids and played 27 games with the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. Although selected for the 2013 ECHL All-Star Game, he was unable to participate due to being recalled to the AHL. Glendening contributed 16 points over 24 playoff games, playing a key role in leading Grand Rapids to their inaugural Calder Cup title.

The following year, on July 5, 2013, Glendening inked a one-year, two-way contract with the Detroit Red Wings. He made his NHL debut on October 12, 2013, facing off against the Philadelphia Flyers. Detroit extended his contract for three years on April 5, 2014; notably, he scored his first NHL goal that same night against goaltender Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens. His milestone set a franchise rookie record by going 52 games before netting his first goal, surpassing former record-holder Cummy Burton.

On July 14, 2016, Glendening secured a four-year contract extension with Detroit. He reached another significant milestone on March 10, 2020, playing his 500th NHL game for the Red Wings and becoming the first undrafted player since the draft expanded in 2005 to achieve this feat with Detroit.

After completing eight seasons and concluding his tenure with Detroit, Glendening agreed to a two-year contract worth $3 million with the Dallas Stars on July 28, 2021. Following two seasons there, he signed a two-year deal valued at $1.6 million with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 1, 2023.

Ahead of the 2025–26 NHL season, without a contract offer, Glendening accepted a professional tryout invitation from the New Jersey Devils on September 5, 2025; he subsequently secured a one-year contract with them on October 7.

International competition

Glendening earned his first opportunity to represent Team USA on the international stage on April 19, 2019, participating in the 2019 IIHF World Championship held in Bratislava and Košice, Slovakia.

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2008–09	University of Michigan	CCHA		35	6	4	10	33		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	University of Michigan	CCHA		45	7	14	21	39		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	University of Michigan	CCHA		44	8	10	18	26		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	University of Michigan	CCHA		41	10	11	21	24		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Providence Bruins	AHL		3	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Toledo Walleye	ECHL		27	14	7	21	27		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		51	8	18	26	50		24	6	10	16	30
2013–14	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL		18	5	7	12	18		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		56	1	6	7	22		5	1	0	1	0
2014–15	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		82	12	6	18	34		7	2	1	3	8
2015–16 NHL season |Detroit Red Wings |NHL |81	8	13		21	5	0	1	1		0
2016–17 NHL season |Detroit Red Wings |NHL |74	3	11		14	26	—	—	—		—	—
2017–18 NHL season |Detroit Red Wings |NHL |69	11	8		19	17	—	—	—		—	—
2018–19 NHL season |Detroit Red Wings |NHL |78	10	13		23	15	—	—	—		—	—
2019–20 NHL season |Detroit Red Wings |NHL |60	6	3		9	14	—	—	—		—	—
2020–21 NHL season |Detroit Red Wings |NHL |54	6	9		15	20	—	—	—		—	—
2021–22 NHL season |Dallas Stars |NHL |82	9	7		16	6	0	0	0		2
2022–23 NHL season |Dallas Stars |NHL |70	3	3		6	17	2	1	3		2
2023–24 NHL season |Tampa Bay Lightning |NHL |81	10	1		11	5	0	0	0		0
2024–25 NHL season |Tampa Bay Lightning |NHL |77	4	3		7	5	1	1	2		0
NHL totals !864 !83 !83 !166 !308 !50 !6 !4 !10 !12

International

Year	Team	Event	Outcome		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2019	United States	WC	7th place		8	0	2	2	0
Career senior totals					8	0	2	2	0