The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed left-winger Curtis Glencross to a professional try-out.
#Leafs sign Curtis Glencross to PTO for camp.
— . (@AWalksOfficial) September 9, 2015
File Glencross under the category of, “useful player who somehow couldn’t get a contract this summer.”
One of today's examples, Curtis Glencross, you won't find many teams with 12 better forwards. What's going on here? https://t.co/lIxVf88h3x
— Anthony Petrielli (@APetrielli) September 9, 2015
Isn’t it bizarre how timing and circumstance works? Take a glance at Glencross’ career production, then one at David Clarkson’s, and wonder to yourself how one ends up at camp on a PTO two summers after the other signed a seven year, $36 million deal.
Glencross has been a regular 40+ point scorer throughout his career, breaking 25 goals twice with Calgary in 2010-11 & 2011-12. He’s coming off a four-year, $2.55 million deal that expired at age 32.
He was dealt to the Capitals at the 2015 trade deadline, and initially looked as though he would play a significant role for Washington down the stretch. Glencross scored four goals in his first six games after the trade and the Caps were controlling 61% of the shot attempts with him on the ice.
His numbers plummeted in his next fifteen, with just one assist and a 43.4% possession share when on the ice. His usage declined considerably in the playoffs, playing just ten minutes a night over ten appearances, and he was scratched in four of fourteen Caps playoff games. He scored a key goal in Game 5 of the Caps’ series versus the Rangers — his lone playoff point — only for his giveaway to contribute to the decisive Ranger tally in overtime.
“He came in, scored some goals for us early, then some things went on that he kind of lost his game a little bit and I don’t think we had time to wait around for him to find it again,” Caps general manager Brian MacLellan said. “There’s a good player in there. We saw a little bit of it. I made the point to the coaches, if we win that [Game 5] 1-0 when he scored that goal, it’s a great trade. That’s the fine line.”
Glencross has struggled to stay consistently healthy in recent seasons, but he played 71 games last season – the first time he’s broken the 70-game mark since 2010-11.
A look at the variety of veteran options available to the team on either short-term contracts or PTOs suggests the game plan is to keep the youth largely down and off the big club roster barring something unforeseen in training camp and preseason.
— Good Tweet Pete 🌮 (@peterhassett) March 1, 2015
Glencross pic.twitter.com/c7pim7scK7
— Muneeb Alam (@muneebalamcu) March 1, 2015
This creates a log-jam for the Maple Leafs on left wing, where Babcock already has:
- James van Riemsdyk
- Leo Komarov
- Daniel Winnik
- Shawn Matthias
- Taylor Beck
Toronto Maple Leafs Training Camp Outlook
*Player Tryout Agreementitalics Injured
| LEFT WING | CENTRE | RIGHT WING |
|---|---|---|
| James van Riemsdyk | Nazem Kadri | P.A. Parenteau |
| Joffrey Lupul | Tyler Bozak | Richard Panik |
| Leo Komarov | Peter Holland | Devin Setoguchi* |
| Daniel Winnik | Nick Spaling | Brad Boyes* |
| Shawn Matthias | Mark Arcobello | Matt Frattin |
| Taylor Beck | Sam Carrick | Connor Brown |
| Curtis Glencross* | Byron Froese | Zach Hyman |
| Josh Leivo | William Nylander | Casey Bailey |
| Brendan Leipsic | Mitch Marner | Kasperi Kapanen |
| Frederik Gauthier | Nikita Soshnikov | |
| Nathan Horton | ||
| LEFT DEFENCE | RIGHT DEFENCE | |
| Dion Phaneuf | Roman Polak | |
| Morgan Rielly | Stephane Robidas | |
| Jake Gardiner | Petter Granberg | |
| Matt Hunwick | Tom Nilsson | |
| Martin Marincin | ||
| Stuart Percy | ||
| T.J. Brennan | ||
| Scott Harrington | ||
| Viktor Loov | ||
| GOAL | ||
| Jonathan Bernier | ||
| James Reimer | ||
| Christopher Gibson | ||
| Antoine Bibeau | ||
| Garret Sparks |
Curtis Glencross Scouting Report via Forecaster
Position: Left Wing (shoots left)
Born: Dec 28, 1982, Kindersley, SASK [32 yrs.old]
Height: 6.01
Weight: 200 [185 cm/91 kg]
Assets: Is an industrious, physical forward who usually keeps the game as simple as possible. With good speed, he can score goals in bunches and is a solid role player. Takes care of his end, and can even contribute on the penalty kill.
Flaws: Will always need to outwork opponents, as he can’t make it on pure talent alone. Inconsistency has plagued him, especially early on in his career. Can occasionally take a bad penalty that hurts his team.
Career Potential: Gritty two-way winger.
Curtis Glencross Statistics
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | | | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-01 | Brooks Bandits | AJHL | 60 | 23 | 22 | 45 | 113 | | | ||||||
| 2001-02 | Brooks Bandits | AJHL | 53 | 42 | 26 | 68 | 163 | | | ||||||
| 2002-03 | U. of Alaska-Anchorage | WCHA | 35 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 79 | | | ||||||
| 2003-04 | U. of Alaska-Anchorage | WCHA | 37 | 21 | 13 | 34 | 79 | | | ||||||
| 2003-04 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | | | 9 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| 2004-05 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 51 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 63 | -6 | | | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 2005-06 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 41 | 15 | 10 | 25 | 85 | 7 | | | 19 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 37 |
| 2006-07 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 31 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 74 | 3 | | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2006-07 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -1 | | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2006-07 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 29 | 19 | 16 | 35 | 53 | 1 | | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2006-07 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2007-08 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 36 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 25 | 3 | | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2007-08 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 26 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 28 | 5 | | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2008-09 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 74 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 42 | 14 | | | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| 2009-10 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 67 | 15 | 18 | 33 | 58 | 11 | | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2010-11 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 79 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 59 | 6 | | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2011-12 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 67 | 26 | 22 | 48 | 62 | -13 | | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2012-13 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 40 | 15 | 11 | 26 | 18 | -8 | | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2013-14 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 38 | 12 | 12 | 24 | 12 | -11 | | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2014-15 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 53 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 39 | 3 | | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2014-15 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 18 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | -1 | | | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| NHL Totals | 507 | 134 | 141 | 275 | 351 | | | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
