Unrestricted free agent left winger Andrew Ladd signed an seven-year, $38.5 million contract with the New York Islanders. Ladd, 30, the only captain of the Winnipeg Jets since the franchise arrived from Atlanta, was a hot commodity at the 2016 NHL trade deadline. Nearly a week before the deadline, the Chicago Blackhawks re-acquired Ladd, giving him a chance at hoisting the Stanley Cup for the third time. However, Chicago would lose in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the St. Louis Blues in seven games. During the 2015-16 campaign, he posted 25 goals and 21 assists for 46 points in 78 contests.
The 6’3, 201-pound Ladd has played a lot of hard, uptempo hockey in his 11-year NHL career. Ladd is a complementary power forward who can play up and down the line-up, but one with an excellent work ethic who operates in the high-traffic areas of the ice and regarded as a leader on the ice. Now as a member of Islanders, he will bring his well-rounded game to yet another new city.
Andrew Ladd: age 30, 7, yrs, $5.5M AAV, avg 54 pts last 3 seasons.
Kyle Okposo: age 28, 7 years, $6M AAV, avg 61 pts last 3 seasons.
— Daniel Friedman (@DanJFriedman) July 1, 2016
Andrew Ladd Signs With the Islanders
At the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, the Carolina Hurricanes selected Ladd fourth overall. He was a depth player during the Hurricanes 2006 Stanley Cup run, recording five points in seventeen post-season games. Ladd would spend the next season and a half with Carolina before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2008 NHL trade deadline, for winger Tuomo Ruutu. Ladd spent the next two years with Chicago, including being a member of the Blackhawks 2010 Stanley Cup winning squad. That off-season saw Ladd land with the then-Atlanta Thrashers, a casualty of Chicago’s salary cap crunch following their first Stanley Cup since 1961.
During his time with the Atlanta Thrashers, and then the Winnipeg Jets, Ladd was a fan favorite and consistent performer. He had recorded at least 46 points each year since 2010. He was traded by the Jets back to the Chicago Blackhawks, along with Jay Harrison and Matt Fraser on February 25, 2016, for prospect Marko Dano and Chicago’s 1st-round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
Ladd has played in 769 NHL regular season games, recording 210 goals and 256 assists. In 64 Stanley Cup playoff contests, Ladd has only managed nine goals and nine assists. He has also been a member of Team Canada at three World Championships. Ladd signed his last, and largest deal with Winnipeg in 2011 for $22 million over five years.
Main Photo: CHICAGO, IL – FEBRUARY 28: Andrew Ladd #16 of the Chicago Blackhawks particiaptes in warm-ups before a game against the Washington Capitals at the United Center on February 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
