WINNIPEG TRADES LADD AND LOSE LITTLE

         Winnipeg, Manitoba – Last night the Winnipeg Jets finally made the trade that was quite possibly the worst kept secret in the entire National Hockey League. Andrew Ladd was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks.

            Andrew Ladd was the face of the Winnipeg Jets so why would the Jets trade him away to Chicago of all places a team in the same division. Well this move makes a lot of sense for both teams and it was a win- win situation for both parties.

            Andrew Ladd is a great hockey player we all know that Ladd has hoisted the Stanley Cup twice once in Carolina in 2006 and 2010 in Chicago, however Ladd was traded to Atlanta before he even got his day with the camp along with Dustin Byfuglien.

            Ladd then came with the franchise from Atlanta to Winnipeg and became the biggest name in Winnipeg hockey history, ok maybe second behind Teemu. Ladd brought the Jets back to life and the team did well under Ladd as the team captain, but in the salary cap era no player is off the books.

            Winnipeg is known for being a budget team, they try to stay under the cap by a large margin and for the most part it has done well for the Jets faithful but with Ladd and Byfuglien both wanting big deals north of 7 million it was clear that one player was going to be moved and it was Ladd once Byfuglien signed his 5 year contract.

            But the Winnipeg Jets didn’t lose this trade by any stretch of the imagination, this was a good trade for Kevin Cheveldayoff and the Jets organization. The Jets got Marko Dano in return as well as a first round draft pick and a conditional third rounder in 2018. The condition is if the Hawks hoist the Stanley Cup again then Winnipeg gets a third rounder, if the Hawks don’t win the cup that third round pick reverts back to Chicago.

            Cheveldayoff has been getting ripped by fan saying this is a bad deal but let me tell you this is not a bad deal for the Jets this is a great deal and here is why.

            Dano has 48 games in the National Hockey League split between both Columbus the team who drafted him and Chicago where Dano ended up in the Brendon Sadd deal last summer, now we all know that the Hawks were only after Arteim Anisimov in that deal but Columbus didn’t want Dano so Chicago picked him up and put him in the minors.

            Dano only has 13 games in Chicago scoring two points, that’s why Jets fans are so upset and say this is a bad deal but if you go through the expanded stats that are offered Dano was only playing 9 minutes in Chicago an average of :41 seconds per shift which is not a lot of time to prove yourself on a powerhouse.

            Dano can fit right into the roster in Winnipeg with a great coach in Paul Maurice who is known for his work with young players along with assistant coach Charlie Huddy. Maurice has worked his magic with this team and got them into the playoffs last year yes it will be a no playoff year for Winnipeg this year but Dano can at least get his feet wet.

            Winnipeg would be picking third today if the season were to end and that is a great position to be in for this young team, and they also get the 28^th pick in the first round from Chicago which is also great for the Jets.

            Winnipeg may not be done however with the news that they have lost Bryan Little for the remainder of the regular season. Little of course was hurt in Tampa Bay on the Jets four game road trip and has a fractured vertabre in his back, so the Jets may have to move someone else to replace Little in the short term, maybe a prospect or roster player.

            Winnipeg fans are also hoping that the Ladd era in Winnipeg isn’t over with the fact that he is a UFA after this season chances are good that Chicago will not resign him as he more then likely is just a rental player for the stretch run with the Hawks being bitten by the injury bug, there is a slight possibility that Ladd could return. 

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