Florida Panthers RUMORS: Does Team Have Interest In Andrew Ladd? (TWEETS)

With the trade deadline approaching, more teams are expected to be making some hard hitting moves for key players. Winnipeg captain Andrew Ladd has been garnering a lot of interest as of late. It is still uncertain whether he will remain with the team, as contract talks had broken of earlier this week. With many teams interested in him, where would the 30-year-old fit best? Some surprisingly say Florida.

"I will say this. It's funny that we talked about Andrew Ladd. If there's one team that I feel is an amazing fit for Andrew Ladd, it's Florida, in my opinion. I don't know if the Panthers can swing it. And again, we don't even know if the Jets are willing to move him yet, either. But if the time comes where Andrew Ladd is on the market, [Florida GM] Dale Tallon has a history with Ladd in Chicago. I just feel like that would be a tremendous fit," said ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, according to Chris Nichols of Today's Slapshot. "So who knows. Keep that in the back of your mind in case it actually becomes something that makes sense down the road."

"Ladd would be a tremendous fit in Florida: A guy you can plug in anywhere in the top nine, a gritty leader who would bring character and a Cup ring to the mix," LeBrun said on his page.

The Panthers organization is not giving away too much information either.

"It depends what it's going to cost us, we're going to look at everything, like we always do," Tallon said on Monday. "We'll make a decision based on what the cost is and if it affects our future or not. Those are the two most important things. We want to make sure we don't give up too much for a player we might not sign. It has to be the right fit. But we'll look into it, we'll see what makes sense," according to LeBrun.

While the move may make sense to some, others do not see the deal coming to fruition, claiming that the Panthers have no interest in the winger.

The Panthers have been playing surprisingly well, and presently sit second in the Western Conference.

Dale Tallon has already traded for Ladd while he led the Blackhawks, trading Tuomo Ruutu to the Hurricanes for him, back in 2008.

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NHL, Winnipeg jets, Jets, Florida panthers, Panthers