Glenn Gawdin’s recall from the Hartford Wolf Pack makes him the latest name to enter the New York Rangers’ bottom-six center mix as the front office continues searching for stability down the middle.
New York began the 2026-27 campaign with an established center hierarchy featuring Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, Noah Laba, and Joe Veleno, but injuries and inconsistent play quickly scrambled those plans.
Laba has endured growing pains, Veleno landed on the shelf with a long-term injury, and the coaching staff has spent weeks trying to smooth out the rotation. Cole Beaudoin, the prized young center acquired in the Vincent Trocheck blockbuster, received a brief NHL look before being reassigned to Hartford to continue his development. Will Cuylle was briefly shifted to the middle to bump Laba down, but head coach Mike Sullivan treated that as a short-lived experiment. The front office also signed 37-year-old Luke Glendening to plug the gap, but his shrinking role suggests this latest roster move could spell the end of his audition
Gawdin Has Earned His Opportunity With Hartford
Gawdin joined the organization as an unrestricted free agent this past summer, having originally entered the league as a fourth-round pick by the St. Louis Blues in 2015. At 6'1" and 192 pounds, the 29-year-old brings a heavy, professional frame and vast American Hockey League pedigree, racking up 363 points in 487 career AHL contests across nine seasons. While he previously posted 313 points in 312 WHL games during his junior days, he has spent most of his pro career waiting for an extended NHL opportunity.
What makes his current recall notable is his offensive efficiency. Gawdin is currently in the midst of one of the most productive scoring stretches of his professional career.
Season | Team | Games | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023-24 | San Diego Gulls | 70 | 22 | 33 | 55 |
2024-25 | San Diego Gulls | 72 | 26 | 36 | 62 |
2025-26 | Ontario Reign | 71 | 16 | 35 | 51 |
2026-27 | Hartford Wolf Pack | 16 | 5 | 9 | 14 |
Over his last three full AHL seasons, Gawdin has consistently cleared 50 points and 30 assists while dressing in at least 70 games. Through 16 games with Hartford this fall, he is tied for the team lead in scoring and is tracking toward a 22-goal, 62-point pace.
Glendening’s Diminishing Ice Time Opened the Door
While nobody expects Gawdin to single-handedly transform New York’s bottom six, the Glendening experiment has clearly stalled. The veteran center skated just eight shifts and logged a meager 3:46 of ice time in Monday’s 3-1 loss to Edmonton which marks his lowest total since joining the team. That followed games where his ice time steadily dwindled from 7:33 to 7:31 and 6:08. Faceoff prowess was the primary justification for bringing Glendening aboard, and he has delivered by winning 15 of 21 draws.
However, his diminishing 5v5 foot speed has generally resulted in the fourth line getting pinned in its own zone, unless an undisclosed minor injury explains his sudden benching. For context, this year his top speed is 22.31 MPH which has him in the 71st percentile of skaters according to NHL EDGE. Last season he topped out at 23.28 MPH which had him in the 92nd percentile. That's a pretty significant drop, and while a normal one considering his age, one the Rangers likely saw being a possibility.
With Alberts Smits placed on injured reserve to open the roster spot, the Rangers needed a spark. Gawdin has paid his dues, provides superior mobility compared to Glendening, and enters Wednesday's tilt in Calgary with a legitimate chance to lock down a permanent bottom-six role.
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