The Carolina Hurricanes selected Ladd with the No. 4 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft after he scored 75 points (30 goals, 45 assists) and had a plus-39 rating in 71 games with Calgary of the Western Hockey League.

Following a second season with Calgary, Ladd began 2005-06 with Lowell, the Hurricanes' American Hockey League affiliate. He made his NHL debut on Nov. 20, 2005, and scored his first goal two games later, against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 25.

Ladd scored his first goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Game 4 of the 2006 Eastern Conference Final against the Buffalo Sabres and helped the Hurricanes defeat the Edmonton Oilers in seven games to win the Cup for the first time in franchise history.

On Feb. 26, 2008, Ladd was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. He scored 99 points in 184 games during two-plus seasons with the Blackhawks, which included a Stanley Cup championship in 2010.

On July 1, 2010, Ladd was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers. He scored and NHL career-high 29 goals in his first season with Atlanta and was named team captain on Nov. 18, 2010. He retained the role after the franchise relocated to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season.

Ladd was traded back to the Blackhawks on Feb. 25, 2016. He scored eight goals and 12 points in 19 games during his second stint in Chicago.

He became a free agent after that season and signed a seven-year contract with the Islanders on July 1, 2016. Ladd scored 23 goals in his first season with New York (2016-17) and had 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists) in 73 games in 2017-18.

Injuries have limited Ladd to 30 NHL games since then. He scored 14 points (11 goals, three assists) in 34 games for Bridgeport of the American Hockey League in 2019-20.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• Traded to Chicago by Carolina for Tuomo Ruutu, February 26, 2008.
• Traded to Atlanta by Chicago for Ivan Vishnevskiy and Atlanta/Winnipeg's 2nd round pick (Adam Clendening) in 2011 NHL Draft, July 1, 2010.
• Transferred to Winnipeg after Atlanta franchise relocated, June 21, 2011.
• Traded to Chicago by Winnipeg with Jay Harrison and Matt Fraser for Marko Dano and Chicago's 1st round pick (later traded to Philadelphia -- Philadelphia selected German Rubtsov) in 2016 NHL Draft, February 25, 2016.
• Signed as a free agent by NY Islanders, July 1, 2016.
• Traded to Arizona by NY Islanders with a 2nd-round pick in 2021 NHL Draft and a conditional pick in each of the 2022 and 2023 NHL Drafts for future considerations, July 17, 2021.