If the Jets can’t sign Ladd, is it about more than money?

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/01/2016 (3519 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Andrew Ladd stood in front of a Winnipeg Jets backdrop, a semi-circle of reporters and cameras directly in front of him.

He didn’t duck any questions, but was hardly enlightening, either. And watching that whole scene unfold earlier this week — prompted by reports talks with the Jets on a new contract had “broken off,” a term his agent later contested — left yours truly wondering just one thing:

How did it come to this?

How did this turn so dramatically for the team’s captain and leading scorer from last season?

Remember, he was reportedly close to putting pen to paper on a new deal as far back as last July, but now may have his future with the franchise counted in days leading up to the National Hockey League trade deadline Feb. 29.

The simple answer as to how this unravelled is it takes to two to make a deal and something — dollars and term being the obvious answers — is preventing this thing from getting done.

Now, this isn’t to debate again which of the two unrestricted free agents the club should sign — Ladd or Dustin Byfuglien, or both. Been there and done that, and we’ve stated previously Byfuglien is a difference-maker who could help propel any Stanley Cup contender closer to the winner’s circle and with Ladd, any team would be looking to add a consistent character type for its Top 9.

But what about the side effects of dealing Ladd, or losing him in free agency, beyond how it affects the depth chart?

True North has built a reputation on fostering a family type atmosphere with both the Jets and the Manitoba Moose. It’s all about relationships, the mantra goes, and making players feel part of their community and the city. That’s what makes this potential divorce from the team and the captain — who played such a vital role, particularly in Year 1 in helping the organization establish that core foundation — feel just plain odd.

With all due respect, this isn’t Michael Frolik leaving in free agency. Or the team cutting ties with a Kyle Wellwood or Tim Stapleton or Jim Slater, good citizens all. This is the player the franchise has already re-signed once and who has worn the ‘C’ for two head coaches.

Debate all you want his leadership, or the drop in his play this year after off-season surgery, but moving the only captain the Jets. 2.0 has known will cause waves across the NHL.

Ladd is under the microscope, his every shift a referendum on his career in Winnipeg. But outside of our borders he’s still seen as a respected character-type who has nine seasons of double-digit goal totals on his resumé.

Just so we’re clear, this isn’t a paid advertisement brought to you by the Ladd camp. The captain and his representatives must be careful about pushing away from the negotiating table and a reported US$6-million-plus offer. That kind of dough might be there July 1 — it just takes one team to make it work — but the Canadian dollar and a collective retreat by NHL GMs on throwing around insane money is also expected to impact the market this summer.

Yes, it’s all just part of the business and that was the theme of some of Ladd’s answers earlier this week. He’s put on a stone-cold face on the few occasions the issue has been broached this season and, as he pointed out, he’s also not alone in his current situation, what with the Tampa Bay Lightning and captain Steven Stamkos at the same crossroads.

Hey, we get it, too. Jets management certainly isn’t going to simply pile up the coin to meet Ladd’s demands, especially knowing it will soon have the likes of Jacob Trouba, Mark Scheifele and Adam Lowry due for considerable raises.

Maybe these two sides can still get a deal done. But if they don’t — given this cosy relationship over the past five years — then this isn’t simply about business. It’s more than that. And some break-ups leave considerable scars.

Five other hot takes on the Jets

1. As much fun…

As Tuesday night’s win over the Arizona Coyotes was — the Nikolaj Ehlers hat trick and Byfuglien’s two goals had the joint jumping — the reality for the Jets remains the same as they pull in for their annual NHL All-Star break. At 22-24-3, the Jets still have three teams between them and the wild-card spot and will have to play out of their skulls down the stretch to be in the playoff race. Parity in the Western Conference this season has most projecting the playoff line to be at 91 points and to reach that the Jets would need to earn 44 points in their final 33 games.

That would mean a heckuva run for a team that hasn’t won three in a row since last April.

FYI, when the Jets return from the break they have two more home games — against the Dallas Stars and the Carolina Hurricanes — before beginning a stretch in February that will have them play eight of their next 10 on the road.

FYI, Part Deux: Sportsclubstats.com has the Jets’ odds at qualifying for the playoffs (prior to Wednesday’s action) at just 6.9 per cent. And they have a 7.5 per cent chance of landing the first-overall pick in the NHL draft lottery.

So, what’s worth more to this franchise right now: cranking out an unbelievable run just to get into the playoffs again or potentially securing a top-three pick that is top-heavy in talent? That’s the ultimate in small picture vs. big picture debate that should keep sports talk radio, the local press and social media humming well after the trade deadline.

2. A lot of folks…

Are wondering aloud about the recent changes made to the Jets’ anemic power play and, specifically, what took so bleeping long. In the two games since the Jets made the move to station Byfuglien in front of the enemy net and put Ehlers back on the point with Tyler Myers on the No. 1 unit, the Jets’ power play has two goals on seven chances. That’s a 28.5 per cent clip (Washington is first overall at 27.1 per cent) and light years from the 15.9 per cent success rate they have for the entire season.

As much as moving the big man into the goaltender’s line of sight has had its obvious benefits — Byfuglien scored 10 seconds into the first power play under the experiment — what is being somewhat lost is the benefit of having Ehlers’ skill and quickness at the point. His stickhandling, speed and vision changes the shooting lanes available instantly.

Those alterations have been encouraging, if nothing else, but the penalty kill — even with Byfuglien’s short-handed effort against Arizona — remains a big-time concern. The Jets are just 27th with a 77.2 per cent kill rate and have been short-handed for 298 minutes and 19 seconds, second highest in the league (the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have played two more games, are at 304:47.

3. If you’re wondering…

What happens to all those hats that get tossed on the ice after a Jet scores three, and we had a few texts, Twitter messages and emails on that since Ehlers did his thing, here’s the answer straight from the club: they are being kept for a display that will be built either at the MTS Iceplex or the MTS Centre.

Ehlers now has six points (4G, 2A) over the last four games, moving him into a tie for sixth among rookie scoring with 12 goals and 10 assists, and silencing the camp that thought the Jets should have sent him back to junior when he was in a bit of a funk before Christmas.

4. The Ehlers hatty…

Prompted a bunch of emails/notifications from the Jets and the NHL’s stats crew about the last time a rookie for the franchise scored three in a game, etc., etc. It’s the kind of stuff we all like to munch on as a chance to reconnect with history.

But when the answers are Kamil Piros (the last rookie to score a hat trick back in 2003) and Ilya Kovalchuk (the only other teenager to record a hatty), then it fuels the discussion about why this franchise even bothers referencing its Atlanta Thrashers history while the banners for Dale Hawerchuk, Thomas Steen and Bobby Hull hang in the rafters in Glendale.

Since the Jets 1.0 past remains with the Coyotes, we ask this question: should the Jets 2.0 history include the Thrashers or begin Oct. 9, 2011 when they played their first game against the Montreal Canadiens?

5. Finally, a funny moment…

At least, for me, during Ehlers’ post-game media session after he notched his first career hat trick against the Coyotes. The cameras had departed after Ehlers gave praise to his teammates and spoke about how he planned to spend the all-star break with his girlfriend and ex-Halifax Mooseheads buddies, when yours truly decided to ask one more question in the hopes of landing one juicy little nugget for a story.

The exchange went like this…

Moi: Hey, you got a puck to commemorate your first goal against the Rangers earlier this year. What do you get when you score your first hat trick?

Ehlers: Three pucks.

Moi: I guess I could have figured that out.

Ehlers: (Laughing) Yeah, probably.

Your humble agent, perhaps, needs a bit of a break right now, too. Feel free to discuss among yourselves.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait