Andrew Ladd has a really good reason to ditch out on playing in Russia

Jets captain Andrew Ladd was all set to sign a deal with Avangard Omsk in the KHL to play there during the lockout. A funny thing happened along the way to the tarmac: Ladd’s wife found out she was pregnant with their first child.

As Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press heard it from Ladd, it was a sudden turn of events that made him want to stay at home during the lockout.

“But the more we thought about it, the more I decided to change my mind,” Ladd said. “My wife is pregnant and I couldn’t really justify leaving her by herself. The more I thought about it, the more I thought I didn’t want to leave.”

That should make women everywhere swoon just a little bit. Ladd said he was tempted to go play in Russia for a short time and be back either by the time things were settled or before his wife was due, but said he didn’t want to miss out on anything.

I think we found the early leader for Winnipeg’s “husband of the year” award.