Why Does Andrew Ladd Prefer Winning to Sunlight?

Chris Vivlamore has a word with current (and future, maybe? Probably not) Thrashers captain Andrew Ladd:

Q. Can Atlanta, a major city with the nice weather and such, be a major selling point for this team?

A. I think so but again the biggest thing is to know that you are coming to a successful team, a team that is headed in the right direction. I don’t think it matters much to anyone, the weather is nice, but at the end of the day winning hockey games is far more important. It takes a toll on you, mentally, losing. As a player, for me, it’s frustrating. It’s a tough year to go through, losing games. It’s not as much fun coming to the rink. When you are winning games, it’s fun coming to the rink. You have an extra kick in your step. That’s the most important thing for guys coming here.

The comments are full of exclamations along the lines of "get this deal done!" as if this situation is entirely a matter of whether or not the Thrashers want to sign Ladd to long-term extension. Certainly they do, but let's keep this in perspective by remembering a few key facts:

1) Ladd came here via a trade.

2) Ladd just had a career season and could use that (or "leverage" it, as they say in Business Horrorspeak) to get a lot of money, somewhere. Here or elsewhere.

3) The Thrashers, despite playing in a sunny climate, are yet to become a "successful team." Which Ladd thinks is important, for some reason.

4) Being a two-time Stanley Cup winner, Ladd probably hates losing (i.e. "Atlanta" and "the sun").

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In other news, your TBC editor predicted long before the playoffs started (check here, in the comments section) that Vancouver would not only beat, but SWEEP, Chicago. Tonight we find out if I'm that guy in Plan 9 From Outer Space.