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Arizona Coyotes Acquire Andrew Ladd Plus Draft Picks

Andrew Ladd

On a busy trade day before the expansion draft cutoff for deals, the Arizona Coyotes have acquired forward Andrew Ladd from the New York Islanders plus draft picks. For the Coyotes they received much needed draft picks. For the Islanders they got rid of Ladd’s $5.5 million cap hit for the next two seasons. At 35, it is unknown if Ladd has any gas left in the tank. He only appeared in four NHL games during the 2019-20 season and only one game in the AHL this past season.

Andrew Ladd Traded to Arizona Coyotes For Salary Cap Relief

The Islanders wanted to get some cap relief, so who better to turn to than the accommodating Coyotes? The Arizona club will have an internal cap limit of about $65 million next season. And getting to the cap basement may be an issue. Not with this deal. It’s unknown if Ladd will actually play any games or not. His stay in New York was more than tenuous. The Coyotes certainly in some sort of rebuild, re-tool… whatever are anxious to replenish their draft picks to build for the future.

The move enables the Islanders to make some moves with some needed cap relief by sending Ladd’s contract west. They now project according to capfriendly.com to have about $13 million to acquire some players. And general manager Lou Lamoriello has been known to use his cap space wisely.

What This Means For The Future

New general manager Bill Armstrong of the Arizona Coyotes will be able to show off his draft prowess now. He now has three second round picks for 2021. In the deal, the 2023 third rounder is transferred if Ladd plays in at least one game during the 2022-23 season according to capfriendly.com.

This seems to satisfy both clubs and usually that must happen before any NHL deal happens. We’ll see if Ladd actually plays or if the Coyotes just “bought” some draft picks.  In the meantime, this helps out the Islanders’ financial situation.

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