Life looks a lot different these days for Luke Glendening, but he’s as committed as ever to his next opportunity.

EDITOR’S NOTE: As the Griffins and Red Wings celebrate their 25th season of affiliation, Griffiti is profiling several of the players who have made an indelible impact on both organizations.

Luke Glendening has built his career on a relentless work ethic, mental toughness, and a commitment to performing the less-glamorous tasks a successful team needs.

He prides himself on being among the NHL’s most proficient in the faceoff circle. He’s asked to block shots, kill penalties, and generally make life harder on his opponents.

That’s been a constant throughout his 14 professional seasons. But life away from the rink has changed quite a bit – particularly in what awaits him when he looks to decompress after a hectic stretch of the NHL’s schedule.

“I play a lot of dress-up – well, I don’t, but I’m changing dresses a lot,” said Glendening. “We do a lot of dance parties. There’s a lot of singing, a lot of performances. I’m having to relearn a lot of songs I used to know.”

Such is the life of many parents with two young daughters, as Glendening and his wife, Paige, have a 3-year-old and 1-year-old at home.

“I can be hard on myself, but like any other job, you have to reset once you get home,” said Glendening. “They don’t really care what happened, and that can be an amazing thing. They’re just happy their dad’s home. That’s allowed me to have a new perspective, that’s for sure.”

Despite the busier – and more theatrically-rigorous – home life, the Grand Rapids native knows he’s in the twilight of his career, but he has no plans of going willingly.

“Some guys retire from the game, and they’re ready to be done,” Glendening said. “I told my family and my agent, ‘I don’t think that’s going to be me.’ I’m never going to want to be done. I’m going to have to not be able to find a job.

“I’m 37, I’m not a top-end player,” he continued. “I never have been, and I’m very aware of that. I’ve been hopeful that I’d get one more shot, so I’m staying ready. I said I would never forgive myself if a team called in the middle of September and I hadn’t been training all summer. So I’ve been training, and I’m ready, just in case.”

He didn’t need to wait long after his interview with Griffiti to find that opportunity. Still living and training in Tampa, Florida, he signed a professional tryout with the Lightning on Sept. 16 after one season away from the organization. While familiarity with his teammates and the team’s system could give him a leg up in finding a role, he never takes any opportunity for granted.

“I never thought I was going to play one game [in the NHL], so if I’m done, it’s all been a huge blessing,” said Glendening. “But I still have a burning passion to compete, for sure.”

One game may have been the goal, but the bar continues to climb over time. Glendening has played 934 NHL games, leaving him 66 shy of the 1,000-game milestone, a mark reached by only 425 players in the league’s 109-year history.

“It would be really cool to get that opportunity,” said Glendening. “It’s something that wouldn’t just be for me. It’d be meaningful to share with the people who believed in me when I didn’t, and fo those who have given me a chance throughout the years. I’ve had so many people back me and encourage me.”

In the 25-year history of the Red Wings and Griffins’ affiliation, only Valtteri Filppula (1,056) and Niklas Kronwall (953) have played more NHL games after playing for the Griffins. While others have traveled the same path as Glendening as an undrafted player who has enjoyed a long NHL career, few have faced the same steep odds at each level.

Glendening played four years of high school hockey in East Grand Rapids, while most his age with pro aspirations would have been playing junior hockey. He wasn’t planning to play collegiately until the University of Michigan offered him a walk-on spot while scouting some of his teammates at a prep school in Connecticut he attended after high school. Eventually, Michigan let him know that he would not play much, so if he had other opportunities, he should pursue one. No such opportunities came, but Glendening served as a two-year captain for the Wolverines and received the advice that has gone on to define his NHL career.

“I ended up picking up an advisor, Alec Schall, when I was a sophomore or junior,” Glendening said. “That was the first time that someone told me they believed I could play beyond college. I wasn’t thinking about the NHL, I was just excited that someone thought enough of my game to tell me they thought I could continue on.

“He told me, ‘If you’re willing to do things that other people aren’t, you could find a way to carve out a long career in the NHL.’ That was the soundest advice I’ve heard. It’s always been so fascinating to me that there are players who are so much better than me, and I’m in the same league as them. But I’ve found a way to do things that other people don’t want to do.”

Always humble, and at times self-deprecating, Glendening doesn’t make the highlight reel often, but there’s always been a place in the NHL for players who earn the trust of their coaches and develop a skillset that helps them slow down the best players in the world. Glendening found himself starting from the ground level again as a pro, signing with the Griffins but initially starting with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye.

“Since I only played high school hockey, I was just ecstatic to get to college,” he said. “I never thought I was going to play a game there, and then I get a chance to sign with my hometown team. Even though I got sent to Toledo, I still got to play to pro hockey. I wouldn’t say my confidence level was high, but it was an opportunity, and that was all I’d ever known.”

Eventually, he earned the callup to Grand Rapids and played a pivotal role as the team won its first Calder Cup championship in 2013. He sensed the bond within the team right away and looks back on the run fondly.

“I remember getting there around the time the team was having a white elephant event around Christmas,” Glendening said. “I could tell by the gifts they were giving each other – I think someone brought in a live sheep – and I thought, ‘Man, these guys really know each other and are having fun here.’ I was just excited to be part of the group, but I remember the feeling that they really cared about each other.”

That experience fostered the drive to win that Glendening has carried throughout his professional career. Now a veteran of five NHL teams between Detroit, Dallas, Tampa Bay, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Glendening has been as far as the Conference Finals and has made the playoffs in each of his last five seasons – marking eight total postseason appearances, in addition to three with the Red Wings.

“What’s crazy is in each of the last four years, the team I’ve been on has lost to the eventual Stanley Cup winner,” said Glendening, noting that Dallas lost to Vegas in 2023, Tampa Bay was beaten in consecutive seasons by Florida in 2024 and 2025, and Philadelphia fell to Carolina this past June. “Every run has been unique and different.”

Last season may have been the most improbable run, as Glendening was facing a lot of professional uncertainty after the Flyers claimed him off waivers from the Devils around the trade deadline. Philadelphia was well out of the playoff picture and was considered a deadline-day seller, but they caught fire late in the year to qualify for the postseason and defeat in-state rival Pittsburgh before meeting the Hurricanes in the second round.

“I said to my wife that the team’s superpower was that they just didn’t know any better,” Glendening said. “They were so young, they were just playing hockey and having fun. I’m sure they all felt pressure, but it didn’t show. It was a short stint for me, but it was a fun group to be a part of.”

It also marked Glendening’s first time being involved in an in-season transaction, luckily close enough to his family in New Jersey that he was able to drive the hour and 15 minutes back and forth on days off until his family got settled. Though his daughters were too young to be in school, it still presented a litany of logistical challenges.

“Last year was full chaos,” said Glendening. “Our youngest was born in March of 2025, then I sign the tryout with New Jersey and end up staying here. My mom was a saint through all of this, coming to stay with them for a while and eventually helping them get out to New Jersey. She stayed with us until we got settled. Then Paige’s dad drove our dog [a Great Dane] up. So many people have helped us along the way. 

“Once I got picked up by Philly, they stayed in New Jersey until the playoffs,” he continued. “They would attend home games and would go back when we were on the road. Paige had a lot on her plate. Some people think it’s easy [with the kids being young], but there’s also another level to that as well.”

Getting an unexpected taste at a healthy postseason run further kindled Glendening’s drive to win another championship, leading to his current tryout opportunity – this time closer to the family’s offseason home in Tampa. With the added perspective of becoming a father, and having thoroughly appreciated where his career has taken him so far, Glendening is content with any outcome. And, through his daughters, he’ll always have a reminder of where he came from.

“Our oldest is Riggsy and our youngest is Ada,” said Glendening. “There’s some West Michigan pull in that name, but now we laugh because we think, ‘What if we ever move back to the area and live in Ada?’ She’d be Ada from Ada.”

Glendening says his off-ice routine hasn’t changed too much over his career, as a player who always valued training and nutrition. It’s the moments at home that drive him to continue chasing his dreams, knowing that his family will be there to share in it.

“[Riggsy] is a diehard fan of wherever I’m playing,” said Glendening. “But it’s not really about me, it’s more about the mascot. She’s really dialed into the mascots.

“I’m just keeping the pedal to the metal for as long as I can, and when it breaks, we’ll stop,” he said. “I used to be able to come home and take a nap every day after I worked out, when I was younger. Now, I come home and it’s daddy day care right away, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world. I love it.”

Photo by Mark Newman