Like it's been stated already, I love the $$$. Honestly thought it was going to be more.
However, the term is 2 years more than I have liked.
Who knows though. Garth is very smart/sneaky when it comes to negotiating contracts and under the table deals. So this seems unlike him unless him and Ladd agreed to something we don't know about. Like Ladd will retire early if his game declines too much and Garth will offer him a position in the organization like he did for other players like Doug Weight.
Actually to think of it, Isles saved some cap space by only signing Ladd and not retaining Nielsen and Okposo, which they will desperately need in order to sign Tavares and keep their team intact when the young guns start demanding that $$$$. Production is similar to Okposo's, and while Nielsen's production will be lost, we now have space on the roster for Barzal to come into the fray. I believe Barzal will be more productive than Nielsen. Maybe not exactly his rookie year, but a couple years down the line he will be.
I like Ladd more than Okposo in the sense that he will actually bring defense to that first line, since Tavares and Okposo had so much trouble doing that and got scored on a lot (costed them game 3 or 4 against Tampa. The game where Isles were in the lead and than Tampa scored in the last min or so)
Also, I've heard nothing but great things about him in the locker room and leadership-wise. He'll serve as a great mentor to Tavares and the other young guns. Something Okposo couldn't/didn't really do.
I like it. Isles save cap space in the future. Replace Okposo's production. Give the Isles more roster space for the younger players. Bring defense to the first line. And bring tremendous leadership to the team (something which I think is very underrated here on HF).