Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
The Winnipeg Jets traded captain Andrew Ladd to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for 21-year-old forward Marco Dano and a first-round draft pick in June, and another conditional pick.
The #Blackhawks acquire forwards Andrew Ladd and Matt Fraser and defenseman Jay Harrison from the Winnipeg Jets. https://t.co/F2xJPXVh7T
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 26, 2016
The Blackhawks acquired Ladd in the trade as well as defenseman Jay Harrison and forward Matt Fraser. For now, both Harrison and Fraser will report to the Blackhawk’s AHL team, the Rockford IceHogs. Â What makes this trade so exciting, aside from the fact that a team made a trade involving their captain, is that Ladd will be returning to Chicago, his former team.
Ladd played with the Blackhawks from 2008 until 2010, and won the Stanley Cup with the team in his final year of his contract. Following the winning of the Cup, Ladd was traded to the, then Atlanta Thrashers, who would later relocate and become the Winnipeg Jets in 2011, as the result of salary-cap issues.
The team is excited to be welcoming Ladd back into the locker room, and the fans have been just as excited to see him on the ice. Ladd is going to play on the left side on the team’s top line alongside Jonathan Toews and Andrew Shaw; he will be filling the hole that was created after the team dealt away Brandon Saad last summer.
Back in red. pic.twitter.com/hiMDGmKg0w
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 27, 2016
Ladd has said that he is incredibly excited to rejoin his former team and said that he had listed the Hawks as one of the top teams he would want to play for if he were to be traded. Not only does he have a ton of respect for the organization but the team and the city of Chicago are familiar to him, likely making this an easy transition
Hawks’ general manager Stan Bowman praised Ladd’s competitiveness and his versatility, and is very pleased to have him back on the team. The excitement regarding the trade has been great, and many think Ladd will help the team take another run to the Stanley Cup Finals. . His play will be a good air for the Hawks as the season winds down and they chase the cup again.
Last season Ladd recorded career-highs with the Jets with 62 points, 24 goals, and 38 assists in 81 regular-season games. Overall, Ladd has 454 points with 252 assists and 202 goals in 750 career games.  He is bound to continue this incredible play as he pulls on his red jersey again and takes the ice with his new/old team in Chicago.
