Ladd rakes it in with Islanders

Former Jets captain signs seven-year, $38.5-M deal

By: Tim Campbell Posted: 10:36 PM CDT Friday, Jul. 1, 2016

In the end, Andrew Ladd got paid.

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This article was published 01/07/2016 (3417 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the end, Andrew Ladd got paid.

The former Winnipeg Jets captain hit one of the home runs at the opening of the NHL free agent market on Friday, signing a seven-year, US$38.5-million contract with the New York Islanders.

Ladd’s deal was for a US$1 million salary in each year of the agreement, with the rest of the cash in signing bonuses starting with US$7 million this coming season and declining through the term of the contract. He reportedly has a no-move clause in the first two years and a no-trade in the next two.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files
Andrew Ladd skates at the MTS Centre for the first time since being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. — BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files Andrew Ladd skates at the MTS Centre for the first time since being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks.

“My relationship with (assistant coach and senior advisor to GM Garth Snow) Doug Weight made that pretty easy,” Ladd said on a conference call with reporters Friday. “I came in and he showed me around. As a visiting player you don’t get a really great idea of what Long Island is and what there is in Long Island.

“And the new practice facility they have now, those are all things I’ve never seen before. Just to get a chance to see what they’re doing there was pretty cool.”

Ladd, who was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks at February’s trade deadline as a rental player, said his family and children were a priority in this new deal.

“And being with a team I think has a chance to win,” he said. “Any team with John Tavares on it, and the goaltending and the defence the Islanders have, they’re very close.”

Ladd was unable to work out an extension with the Jets at any point last season. Reports at one stage had him turning down US$6 million a season over a six-year term but he had nothing bad to say about Winnipeg Friday.

“It’s an interesting period,” Ladd said. “I think it’s nice to have some closure to the whole process and by that I mean really from last year at the draft when all this started.

‘I’ve said all along that I really enjoyed my time in Winnipeg and I’m obviously excited about what the future holds here in Long Island, too’– former Jet Andrew Ladd

“Knowing that your family, you’ll be in the same place for a long time and you’re able to provide some stability with them was really key for me. I’m excited this has come to a conclusion. I’ve said all along that I really enjoyed my time in Winnipeg and I’m obviously excited about what the future holds here in Long Island, too.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca