Capitals, Curtis Glencross at ease with trade deadline having passed

The car arrived for Curtis Glencross shortly after 5 p.m. on Sunday, and after loading his belongings, Glencross plopped himself down into the back seat. Trade speculation had been swirling for almost a month, ever since the Calgary Flames approached him about waiving the no-movement clause in his contract, and finally, with one phone call, it was all over.

Now, he had a few calls of his own to make, and the three-hour drive from Philadelphia to Washington through freezing rain would finally allow him the chance to do so. Glencross pulled out his cell phone and browsed the dozens of missed calls and hundreds of text messages he had received, then prioritized who needed an immediate answer and who could wait.

Clarity had slowly began to prevail for Glencross — and for the Washington Capitals, whose acquisition of the left wing would be their last attempt to fortify their roster for the final six weeks of the regular season. The trade deadline passed Monday afternoon without the Capitals making another transaction, leaving Glencross and defenseman Tim Gleason as the only players who will join Washington for the playoff push.

“You’ve got to come in and be confident and fit in the best way you can,” Glencross said Monday morning, following his first practice with his new team. “There’s a good group of guys in here, and it didn’t take long [to adjust]. I knew a few guys prior to coming here, and that always helps.”

Facilitating that transition will be vital for Glencross, who spent the hour-long practice session Monday morning receiving a crash course on the Capitals’ system. He met with members of the coaching staff beforehand to review his responsibilities, and coach Barry Trotz scheduled drills during practice that he thought would underscore the nuances of their structure.

At one point, Glencross chatted with defenseman Karl Alzner, who appeared to be talking his new teammate through the drill as others took part. And, when the team spent time working on its power play, Glencross stood next to assistant coach Blaine Forsythe to receive additional instruction.

Despite the daunting workload, Glencross still found a way to lighten the mood. While bantering with players on the top power play unit during a water break, he dropped to one knee and stretched his arms outward, with Alex Ovechkin, Troy Brouwer and others recoiling in laughter before beginning the drill again.

“Glenny said he hasn’t had as fun of a practice today as he has all season long, so just that in itself said he’s going to enjoy himself here,” Brouwer said.

The plan, Trotz said Monday, will be for Glencross to join Brouwer and center Evgeny Kuznetsov on the second line, thus giving that line a bit more grit and physicality while maintaining an offensive focus.

Such a move would allow Marcus Johansson to take over, for the time being, as the top-line right wing — a position he has played occasionally in recent games, but one that, on the season, has been a carousel of instability for the Capitals.

“Putting Curtis [on the second line], I think, gives it a little more weight,” Trotz said. “He can get some pucks out of the corners. He’s more of a determined player, if you will, where he will gut it out and get to those hard areas. I think with Kuzy and Brow, he’ll be a good complement.”

The Capitals set their sights on Glencross and Gleason roughly a month ago, general manager Brain MacLellan said, and after picking up both over the weekend, he knew the team was unlikely to be active as the minutes ticked toward the trade deadline on Monday afternoon.

MacLellan, in his first year as the Capitals’ general manager, acknowledged his unease with working the phones in recent days to try to conjure up a deal. He also said that there were other proposals he made Monday, when a significant number of trades were consummated, that fell through.

“It’s hard to sit back and do nothing when people are trying to do something, so I thought it was important for our group that we added a couple pieces,” MacLellan said. “I think given the fact that how well our guys have played and how hard they’ve worked — and coaches, too — you know, we should help them out a little bit, add some depth, add some pieces that make sense to the team.”

A change of scenery certainly makes sense for Glencross, who was left to fret for weeks about his future with the Flames. He had spent the better part of seven seasons in Calgary, and with his contract set to expire in July, he was fairly certain there wouldn’t be an eighth.

The drive to Washington, then, afforded Glencross the opportunity to ponder his future. His wife, Tanya, is expecting the couple’s third child in six weeks, and his daughters, Karter and Paisley, will turn 4 and 3 this spring. Now 32, Glencross is aware he will likely negotiate his final contract this summer.

“You know, seven years in one place is a long time, and you’re a little nervous about change and stuff like that,” Glencross said. “But from the first minute I got in the locker room [Sunday] night, guys made me feel pretty warm. That’s a big part of it.”