Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Ladd will ‘consider’ shutting down contract talks with Jets

Andrew Ladd, Anze Kopitar

Andrew Ladd, Anze Kopitar

AP

A pending unrestricted free agent, Jets captain Andrew Ladd says he doesn’t want his contract situation to become a distraction. As such, he may shut down negotiations when the regular season starts next week.

“It’s certainly something I have to consider,” Ladd told the Winnipeg Free Press. “My contract and the business part of things can’t become a distraction to me or to my teammates. So setting it aside once the season starts is something we’ll (Ladd and his agents) have to discuss.”

It’s certainly possible that Ladd is trying to put pressure on the Jets by creating a deadline of sorts. The 29-year-old winger was Winnipeg’s leading scorer last season, with 24 goals and 38 assists for 62 points.

From the Free Press:

Both the Jets and Ladd have openly stated they want to sign an extension and talks have been ongoing since the draft back in July. The two sides started apart on both term and money. The club wanted a shorter deal and Ladd was originally pushing for an eight-year deal. They seem to have found middle ground at six years but remain apart on the yearly salary.

Neither side is talking in specifics but the comparables are obvious and $6 million per season is the watermark. Ladd wants to be above that number per year and management is holding fast for an average annual value south of $6 it.

The Jets, of course, have two high-profile pending UFAs, the other being defenseman Dustin Byfuglien.