Glendening happy to get extension done, looking ahead to 2016-17

By @StefanKubus –

DETROIT – Grand Rapids native Luke Glendening is certainly happy to be staying in Detroit for an additional four seasons.

But even after signing a four-year extension earlier this summer, he also knows – perhaps better than anyone else being a former walk-on at the University of Michigan – that there are no guarantees in life.

“It’s obviously nice to have a little security, but you can be out of this league just as fast as you get in, so you can’t take anything for granted,” Glendening said. “You have to continue pushing and get better every day.”

 

The Red Wings’ forward was on-hand at Joe Louis Arena to help close out the 2016 Red Wings Youth Camp as a guest instructor.

“It’s always fun,” Glendening said. “I mean they’re excited to be out here. I caught them on the last day so I think some of them are going a little haywire, but it’s good to be out there. They’re having fun.”

Being back inside the arena brings Glendening and the Wings one step closer to the 2016-17 season.

The Red Wings were obviously none too pleased being finished playing hockey in April.

“I think we were all frustrated by the way things ended, but the offseason you have a lot of time to think about it, so here we are and we’re all ready to get back home,” Glendening said. “We still have another two months basically, but we’re gonna be extra ready by the time it starts.

Looking ahead, Glendening said that he fully expects his teammates to help pick up the slack left behind by Pavel Datsyuk, especially those that didn’t have particularly stand-out seasons.

“Obviously, that’s a huge loss, both in the locker room and on the ice, but everyone’s just gotta step up a little bit,” Glendening said. “It’s not gonna be one guy’s job to carry the load that he carried; that’s pretty impossible. Everyone’s just gotta do their job and do their part.

“I think a lot of guys had a down season last year and weren’t exactly where they wanted to be, so if everyone can take a step – it doesn’t have to be a huge one, but a little one – we could be in a good spot.”

Glendening also said he hasn’t experienced any lingering effects from the ankle injury he sustained in the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs against Tampa Bay. That injury forced him to skip the 2016 World Championship.

“We’ve had enough time off. It’s an extra long offseason this summer, so I should be all set.

Ultimately, his personal goal for next season is to be as reliable as possible in any situation.

“I just want to continue contributing any way I can, be solid on the penalty kill, and we’ll see where it shakes out.”