Rangers sign veteran forward Luke Glendening to one-year contract

The New York Rangers signed Luke Glendening to a one-year contract Thursday, the same day they visit the Maple Leafs.

Chris Drury went shopping for mileage. Glendening arrives with 934 regular-season NHL games on his résumé, and the Rangers become his sixth NHL organization.

Nobody signs him for offense. He has 175 career points, and he went 52 games with New Jersey last season without scoring a goal.

That stretch with the Devils came with a -11 rating. A move to Philadelphia changed the tone, with 5 points and a +4 in 18 games.

The Flyers then took the veteran into the postseason, where he scored once in 10 playoff games. Small sample, but coaches notice who gets trusted in April.

Why now? Joseph Veleno is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, and the Rangers don't expect him back until at least January 3.

That leaves Mike Sullivan juggling a bottom six where Noah Laba has 2 points through 11 games and Jaroslav Chmelar is still looking for his first after 7.

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Joseph Veleno injury opens the door for a Rangers veteran

Justin Dowling has dressed for 3 games and Cole Beaudoin for 4, with neither one on the scoresheet. The depth chart down there reads like a group text nobody answers.

And the top of the roster isn't the problem. Alexis Lafreniere has 7 goals and 13 points for a 7-3-1 club sitting fifth in the league.

The road is. New York is 6-0-0 at home and 1-3-1 away, and tonight opens a two-game swing through Toronto and Ottawa.

That's where a right-shot veteran center earns his money. On the road, the other bench gets last change, and depth lines get picked on.

Goaltending raises the stakes on every defensive detail. Igor Shesterkin is out for the season with a knee injury, and Dylan Garand has a .929 save percentage over 7 games.

This is a sensible patch, and an honest admission that Drury's internal options weren't cutting it by late October.

Glendening turns 38 in April, and he's finished on the wrong side of even in five of his last six NHL seasons.

So who sits when he dresses? With Veleno gone until January, Sullivan can't dodge that call for long, and one of the kids is about to learn what the press box looks like.

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