With the Byfulien staying in Winnipeg for another five years, Andrew Ladd's time with the team is waning. Byfuglien signed a five-year deal, with an average salary of $7.6 million per year. The Jets have a lot of players to consider, and most likely not be able to keep Ladd, especially with the potential offseason signings of Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba and Adam Lowry.
"We'll sit back here and adjust and look at the situation here from an organizational standpoint. Again, we really haven't commented on any contract negotiations for a long period of time and that's kind of where we'll stay," said the Jets general manager, Kevin Cheveldayoff. "It's a question that certainly is fair to ask, but with all the moving parts and projection, it's hard to really say for sure where everything falls into place. There's lots of pieces to the puzzle. There's no question. You don't deal with any one thing in a singular fashion. There's lots of moving parts behind the scenes and obviously we have got a lot of work to do ahead of us," according to Winnipeg Sun's Ken Wiebe.
The Byfuglien deal was seen as more important than keeping Ladd. ESPN's Pierre LeBrun called the deal a "must sign" regardless of what becomes of Ladd.
"If they can't get [Andrew Ladd] re-signed and have to trade him by Feb. 29, nobody is going to criticize them given that they got Byfuglien done," LeBrun said.
The 30-year-old Winnipeg captain would surely fetch a good price on the market. He is still young but has experience, and while not the fastest winger, is heavy and can both shoot and make centering passes.
"I've said before, no one enjoys uncertainty and not knowing what's going on, but there's not a whole lot you can do about it," said Ladd before a match with the St. Louis Blues. "There's a lot of guys going through the same situation. Just look across at the other room and their captain (David Backes) is in the same position. Are there some days that it makes it harder to focus on what you need to focus on? Probably, but that's part of being a professional and overcoming that mental battle and getting ready to play hockey every day," according to the Winnipeg Free Press.
Ladd has been the franchise captain for the last six seasons.
