Jets forward Ladd will be ready for camp after surgery

Winnipeg Jets forward Andrew Ladd had surgery for a sports hernia and will be recovered in time for next season.

"Ladd is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp in September," the Jets said in a statement Friday.

Ladd will be the fourth Jets player to have surgery (Jacob Trouba, Toby Enstrom, Adam Pardy) since they were swept by the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"Hopefully I'll get over that, get healthy and get back to the grind of another regular season," Ladd told NHL Live on Tuesday.

Ladd is a finalist for the 2014-15 Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award presented by Bridgestone, awarded "to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season." He partners with the Special Olympics in various fundraisers and activities including tickets to games, meet-and-greets and floor-hockey tutorials. He also served as the presenter of medals at the Special Olympics Manitoba Games and attended the Stars "FORE" Special O Golf Tournament as a celebrity host.

Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf and Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews are the other finalists.

"It's quite an honor to be mentioned in the same breath as guys like Ryan Getzlaf and Jonathan Toews," Ladd said. "I know what they do on and off the ice in their communities and with their teams. To know that Mark Messier has a hand in choosing the nominees is pretty special."

Ladd had NHL career highs of 38 assists and 62 points to help the Jets to 43-26-13 record, the best in the history of the franchise, and the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference.

"I think we took a big step," Ladd said. "Making the playoffs, especially in our conference, isn't an easy task, and we went down the stretch with some really tough games that we had to win with some guys out of the lineup, and we came through to be a playoff team. Obviously disappointed that we lost the first round in four straight, but I think it's a good learning curve for our group and hopefully we come back next year hungrier to go even farther."