Andrew Ladd and his $5.5 million annual contract placed on waivers

This just in, the New York Islanders have placed veteran forward Andrew Ladd on waivers.

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Islanders insider Andrew Gross reports that Ladd's contract will NOT be bought out or terminated, but rather that he's on waivers for the purposes of assignment to the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Gross reports that Isles general manager Lou Lamoriello simply did not see enough from Ladd in his recent five-game conditioning stint with the Sound Tigers to warrant a spot on the Isles' roster.

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Suffice it to say, that's a tough pill for the veteran player to swallow. The 33 year old native of Maple Ridge, British Columbia has struggled to stay healthy in recent seasons and played just 26 games for the Isles in 2018-19. Ladd is a two time Stanley Cup champion, winning in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes and 2010 with the Chicago Blackhawks and was the captain for the Winnipeg Jets for five seasons. Again... suffice it to say that if this is indeed the end of Ladd's NHL career, this is a tough way to go out. Ladd has 248 goals and 537 points in 946 career NHL games and was pegged as a future star player when he was selected 4th overall by the Hurricanes back in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.