Will he be traded? Winnipeg Jets' Andrew Ladd sees 'writing on the wall' as NHL deadline looms

Winnipeg Jets captain Andrew Ladd says the last few games have "felt kind of weird" as he waits to hear if he'll still be with the Jets after the NHL trade deadline.

Tuesday night's game against Dallas is the last home game before the trade deadline on Feb. 29.

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Speaking to reporters in Winnipeg after morning practice, Ladd said he knows his days with the Jets are possibly numbered.

"To be honest with you, the last few games have felt kind of weird — still part of the mental battle of not knowing what's going on," he said.

"But to be honest with you, at this point I'm kind of used to it. I'm just trying to enjoy playing hockey."

Ladd said he hasn't had any conversations with Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff recently, and he has not received another offer.

When asked if he fully expects to be traded, Ladd said he hasn't been told as such.

"We haven't been told that. I can kind of see the writing on the wall but until I hear from them I can't completely confirm that."

However, he said the ongoing talks have not made it more difficult for him to play hockey.

"I think the longer it's gone on, the more I've just kind of gone with the attitude of what's going to happen is going to happen now and it's kind of out of my control, so I might as well just enjoy playing hockey with this group," he said.

"I still want to hopefully be here for a long time, but if I'm not, that just wasn't the plan and you got to deal with that when it comes."

Wheeler 'holding out hope'

Fellow Jets forward Blake Wheeler said he hopes Ladd, whom he described as a close friend, will get to stay with the team.

"We care a lot about Laddie. It's kind of been a long year personally for him," Wheeler said.

He added that Ladd has been "first-class all the way" as he's had to speak for the team through its ups and downs.

"I'll never have enough to say about what he's meant to us in here. He's dealt with a lot of things that a lot of guys don't really know about as the captain. He's handled everything, even going into this year, with a tremendous amount of class and a tremendous amount of professionalism. He's always one of our hardest-working guys," Wheeler said.

"He's been a close friend to me, and his wife and my wife, and our kids. It goes deeper than just on the ice. He's a huge fixture in our room in a lot of ways. I'm still holding out hope."