Andrew Ladd made his return to hockey after over a year dealing with injuries.
General Manager Bill Armstrong was busy before the season started. He shipped out most of the team’s skilled players and acquired the contracts of overpaid veterans. One of the players he traded for was forward Andrew Ladd, who came with a 2021 second-round pick, a conditional 2022 second-round pick, and a conditional 2023 third-round pick.
Games Played: 51
Goals: 7
Assists: 5
TOI/Games Played: 14:07
PP TOI: 82:19
PK TOI: 39:00
Before the season started, some speculated that Ladd wouldn’t even be able to play last season. His last game was March 10th, 2020, one of only four games he played during the 2019-20 season.
But Ladd was adamant that he would play, and sure enough, he was on the roster for opening night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Coyotes were badly outscored that night, not that you could lay that on Ladd. However, two nights later, he did have the Coyotes’ lone goal in their 2-1 shoot-out loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
Andrew Ladd spent most of his season as a bottom-six forward who got occasional power play and penalty kill minutes. He also provided veteran leadership, something the Coyotes needed.
Expectations for Ladd were low, but the Maple Ridge, BC native, definitely exceeded them. He finished with seven goals and five assists in 51, which isn’t great, but it is respectable for the veteran’s role.
Ladd did have a few career accomplishments in his first season with the Desert Dogs. He hit 1,000 games in the season’s second-to-last game and now has 550 career points. In addition, he is only six assists away from hitting 300, which he could do next season.
Andrew Ladd may be overpaid, but for a team like the Arizona Coyotes, that doesn’t matter. They have the cap space, and they got picks to take him, and he was able to play. Of course, it is a low bar, but Ladd easily cleared it and silenced any doubters, myself included.
Grade: C+
Future:
Andrew Ladd must play one game in the 2022-23 season for the Coyotes to get the Islanders’ 2023 third-round pick. If you had asked me if he could do that before the season, I would have been skeptical, but not anymore.
Ladd isn’t the 20-goal player he was for the Winnipeg Jets anymore, but he can still play. He slotted into his role as well as could be expected and should be able to do so next season. The Coyotes will also have a lot of roster turnover this offseason, but they will have some continuity with a player like Ladd.
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