(Photo: Washington Capitals)
Defenseman Tim Gleason, who the Capitals acquired at last year’s trade deadline to bolster their blueline for the second-half of the 2014-15 season, has ended his Professional Tryout Offer (PTO) with the Carolina Hurricanes, according to NBC’s ProHockeyTalk.
Acquired from the ‘Canes for Jack Hillen and two draft picks, Gleason played in 17 games as a Capital, registering two assists while playing on a third-pairing with Mike Green. At 32-years old, Gleason may have played his final NHL game. The reasons behind it are unknown, but the former first-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings is a veteran of twelve NHL seasons, the majority coming with the Hurricanes.
With Gleason’s career ending before his 33rd birthday, I’ve been thinking of the song by Boyz to Men, “End of the Road” especially when it was dedicated to another athlete who recently turned 32, DeAngelo Hall. I hadn’t realized Gleason was so young but guess his usage was “hard”, leading to a relatively premature ending.