Ladd finding comfort zone in Hawks jersey

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/03/2016 (3490 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He’s not the captain anymore, but Andrew Ladd doesn’t see himself as a passenger in the Chicago Blackhawks locker room.

The former Winnipeg Jets captain was dealt to the Hawks on Feb. 25 after he couldn’t come to a contract-extension agreement with the Jets.

“It’s definitely different going into a room,” Ladd said this morning, meeting reporters after the Hawks’ game-day skate at the MTS Centre. Chicago and Winnipeg play tonight. “This team has a lot of great leaders on it and I guess in some sense it takes some of the pressure off. But at the same time, you still want to be yourself and bring your leadership qualities to the table when they need it.

“It’s been good. Knowing a lot of guys in that room makes it a lot easier. Just to feel comfortable in the room and knowing people there, well, on the ice it took a couple of games but I feel comfortable getting back into the system that they play and the expectations.”

Ladd’s family has stayed in Winnipeg since the trade but is preparing to move to Chicago on Saturday.

Today, Ladd said there were some odd feelings coming into the MTS Centre. “It’s a little weird, that’s probably the best way to describe it,” he said. “It’s a little different. I spent a lot of great years here and I’m used to heading the other way.”

Tonight, Ladd will be facing many longtime friends as opponents. “It’s kind of weird,” he said. “I saw some of the guys last night and it doesn’t feel like I’ve been gone that long. I guess because it’s happening so quick it feels a little weird still but when you spend that much time with the same group of guys and the same organization, it’s going to be a little weird coming back and playing in the rink where there are a lot of friends on the other side.”

Hawks captain Jonathan Toews, a Winnipegger, said the Ladd story is a good-news one for his team.

“It’s a cool thing for him,” Toews said today. “Obviously he was a big part of this team and this franchise coming back to Winnipeg, being the captain pretty much the whole time.

“So in his short time in this city, he’s meant a lot to hockey fans here so obviously we know in this locker room what type of guy and what type of player he is and we’re really happy and honoured to have him back in our locker room, too. It’ll be a big night for him.”

When Ladd was traded back to the Hawks last month (he had been dealt by Chicago to Atlanta in the summer of 2010), the Jets were in Dallas.

“It’s never easy but it was kind of weird because we knew it was coming and you just don’t know when,” Ladd said. “So you’re sitting there waiting and waiting. And I guess it was nice to have the opportunity to see the guys before I left and they stayed over in Dallas at night so I got to spend some time with them and say proper goodbyes which is always nice when you’ve spent the past five years day in and day out with a group of guys.”

Tonight, the former captain said he was unsure what to expect from the game and from Jets fans.

“I don’t know,” he sad. “To be honest with you, there’s been so much going on and it’s happened pretty quick that I haven’t had much time to think about it. I’m not sure what to expect at this point but it’ll be nice to just get out there and start playing.

“I enjoyed my time here and I think they appreciated what I brought to the table. I think we have a mutual respect for one another and you’re always hoping for cheers.”

He laughed when asked about what good friend and former teammate Dustin Byfuglien said with a straight face earlier today, that he’d look forward to shooting a puck at Ladd and running him into the boards.

“Yeah, I already told him I’ve got an elbow coming for him if he’s coming,” Ladd said with a smile. “He might end up with a bloody nose.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca