Three years ago, Andrew Ladd was signed to be the wing-man for John Tavares. But now, Ladd is no longer a wing-man to anybody in the NHL.
Signing one of the many bad contracts during what was considered the worst free agency year ever in the NHL, Ladd’s $5.5 million salary now sits in Bridgeport after clearing waivers on Friday.

The B.C. native’s tenure on Long Island never really took flight. His trail playing on the left wing of Tavares lasted just six games. Then, it took Ladd 13 games to finally score his first goal in the orange and blue. This start did not go over well with the fans, who have never really approved of Ladd due to this horrendous start.
The two-time Stanley Cup champion finished his first year on the Island with 23 goals. This was a good number, but just eight assists made his point total severely low for his contract.
In his second season, Ladd played with rookie Mat Barzal to start and had nine goals and 16 points through 35 games. Not bad, but a 26-game goal drought once again frustrated the fans and cost him a successful conclusion to the season.

Last year under Barry Trotz was an injury plagued season. And when he was in, Ladd started to show signs of decline due to his lack of speed, toughness and defensive ability. He was also limited to just 26 games due to knee issues which has cost him to start to this season.
With the Islanders rolling to start this season and Ladd finally healthy, he needed to earn his playing time after a rough conditioning stint in Bridgeport. And with this season and three more left on his seven-year, $38.5 million contract, Ladd is now fighting to revive his NHL career while playing in the AHL.

Who is to blame for this demise? You could lay the blame on Ladd’s extremely poor play for his salary. But you can’t blame injuries.

Maybe blame former general manager Garth Snow, who panicked into overpaying Ladd, an older player and was already declining before coming to Long Island. Whoever you blame for Ladd’s demise, you can most certainly add this contract to the “dud” list of the worst contracts in team history.