| Birth Date: | 29 January 1983 |
| Birth Place: | Clawson, Michigan, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 0 |
| Weight Lb: | 217 |
| Position: | Defense |
| Shoots: | Left |
| League: | NHL |
| Played For: | Los Angeles Kings Carolina Hurricanes Toronto Maple Leafs Washington Capitals |
| Ntl Team: | USA |
| Draft: | 23rd overall |
| Draft Year: | 2001 |
| Draft Team: | Ottawa Senators |
| Career Start: | 2003 |
| Career End: | 2015 |
Timothy Patrick Gleason (born January 29, 1983) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and current assistant coach to the Carolina Hurricanes. Drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the first round, 23rd overall, at the 2001 NHL entry draft, Gleason played in the NHL for the Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Washington Capitals.
As a youth, Gleason played in the 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Detroit Little Caesars minor ice hockey team.[1]
After a standout junior ice hockey career with the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s Windsor Spitfires, Gleason was drafted in the first round, 23rd overall, of the 2001 NHL entry draft by the Ottawa Senators. Unable to come to terms on a contract with the Senators, Gleason was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forward Bryan Smolinski on March 11, 2003.
After spending three years in the Kings organization, Gleason, along with Éric Bélanger, was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on September 29, 2006, in exchange for defensemen Oleg Tverdovsky and Jack Johnson.[2] Gleason stayed with the Hurricanes until January 1, 2014, when he was acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs in a trade for John-Michael Liles and Dennis Robertson.[3] On June 30, however, Gleason was placed on unconditional waivers by the Maple Leafs for the purpose of a contract buyout.[4]
On July 3, Gleason returned to the Carolina Hurricanes as a free agent, signing a one-year, $1.2 million contract.[5] In the 2014–15 season, Gleason resumed his physical role on the Hurricanes' blueline, appearing in 55 games and registering seven points before he was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Jack Hillen and a fourth-round draft pick in 2015 on February 28, 2015.[6]
Gleason played for the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, winning a silver medal.[7]
Gleason is known for his toughness and gritty play, including the diving effort he made for the Hurricanes to prevent the puck from leaving the offensive zone in Game 7 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semi-finals against the New Jersey Devils, which ultimately led to a game-tying goal.[8] He also took a puck to the face whilst playing against the Washington Capitals in 2009, but returned to the ice after multiple stitches to eventually score the tying goal on a breakaway.[9]
Gleason’s cousin Ben is currently under contract with the Edmonton Oilers.[10]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998–99 | Leamington Flyers | WOHL | 52 | 5 | 26 | 31 | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 55 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 101 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 14 | ||
| 2000–01 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 47 | 8 | 28 | 36 | 124 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 23 | ||
| 2001–02 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 67 | 17 | 42 | 59 | 109 | 16 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 40 | ||
| 2002–03 | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 45 | 7 | 31 | 38 | 75 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 17 | ||
| 2003–04 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 47 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Manchester Monarchs | AHL | 22 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2004–05 | Manchester Monarchs | AHL | 67 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 112 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2005–06 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 78 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 57 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 80 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 70 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 68 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 32 | ||
| 2009–10 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 61 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 82 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 85 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 82 | 1 | 17 | 18 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 42 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 39 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 55 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| NHL totals | 727 | 17 | 125 | 142 | 701 | 32 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 37 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | United States | U17 | 4th | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2001 | United States | WJC | 5th | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2003 | United States | WJC | 4th | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008 | United States | WC | 6th | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| 2010 | United States | OG | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Junior totals | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| Senior totals | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||