The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed veteran forward Curtis Glencross to a professional tryout contract (PTO), according to Sportsnet 590’s Andrew Walker. Glencross will join the team for training camp and attempt to grab a roster spot before the start of the season.
Glencross spent the last seven seasons with the Calgary Flames before getting traded to the Washington Capitals at the deadline. The time spent with the Capitals was a mixed bag. He started out strong, scoring four goals and two assists in his first seven games with Washington before going 11 games with only a single assist.
In the postseason he had one goal and no assists through 10 games and was scratched in four games.
Glencross, who is just 32, was outspoken recently talking about how he regretted taking a hometown discount to stay with Calgary. Part of that hindsight is knowing how difficult it is to get a job for him right now despite scoring 13 goals and 22 assists through 71 games last season.
Toronto is a logical fit for Glencross. Toronto, if they give him a contract, gets a veteran player who can be a mentor to younger players, as well as a player they can put on a one-year contract who could be moved at the deadline and could easily outperform expectations. Glencross would get to be reclamation project for Toronto on a team full of them. The opportunity for good ice time to prove his worth is there with Toronto. It’s a set up for a veteran to prove they’ve got a few years left in them and to earn a contract elsewhere the following summer.
Lots of familiar names are taking PTOs this season. Keep up with all the tryout contracts with The Hockey Writers’ 2015 PTO Tracker.
RELATED: (from the trade deadline last season) Curtis Glencross Won’t Fix Your Team