It's just business, until someone takes it personally.

For most people, negotiating isn't an overly enjoyable process and that's why hockey players – and most other professionals – have agents to handle those things.

While Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien told reporters at the NHL All-Star weekend in Nashville that he's left negotiations to his agent Ben Hankinson and has mostly been able to block things out, by listening closely to captain Andrew Ladd, it sounds like he's been kept much more up to date on the process this season.

And reading between the lines, it's sounding more and more likely that a divorce is coming.

Before we dig deeper into the topic of a trade, personally I think Ladd has handled himself well in his dealings with reporters when the sensitive subject has come to the forefront.

He's talked about keeping his focus on the ice and reiterated his position that he wants to remain in the community and with the organization moving forward.

A skeptic is quick to point out, what do you expect Ladd to say, under the circumstances?

Fair point, but it's my belief – in speaking to him and to others – that Ladd's intentions are genuine.

He's invested in trying to help the Jets get better and if he wasn't, Ladd would have gone under the knife late last season to repair the sports hernia that was bothering him rather than wait until after the playoffs were over.

Topping it all off, Ladd fought through the pain and posted a career high in points with 62.

Things haven't gone nearly as smoothly for Ladd this season, as his production is down to 10 goals and 27 points in 49 games.

That's led some to wonder if this is the beginning of the decline, but what if it's just a down season for a guy who has been a consistent point producer since joining the Atlanta Thrashers franchise in the summer of 2010?

Some of the decrease in production is due to it taking Ladd a bit longer to fully recover from the surgery than he had hoped, but another part of it may be due to the uncertainty over his own future.

What's been abundantly clear for quite some time is that a resolution to this situation coming sooner than later would be best.

As much as you can understand that waiting until or closer to deadline day could raise the number of potential suitors or maybe even drive up the price of return, it says here the current edition of the Jets would benefit greatly from knowing whether or not the captain will be with them for the stretch run and perhaps beyond.

Right now, it appears the Jets aren't willing to pay Ladd a contract carrying a value north of $6 million for six seasons.

And unless Ladd's camp lowers his demands, which seems unlikely, or the Jets raise their counter-offer, again unlikely, the end of this relationship appears near for the left-winger.

So where will he end up and what kind of return could dealing Ladd bring?

Ladd's game has always been about more than the numbers and while he hasn't been playing as physical style as in year's past, he's still used in all situations and can help a contending team in a top-six role.

There's been plenty of speculation regarding what teams might or should be interested, there's an obvious one to me – the Anaheim Ducks.

The Ducks make sense on an awful lot of levels.

First and foremost, Ladd would be reunited with former Calgary Hitmen linemate Ryan Getzlaf.

For years, the Ducks had a revolving door of left-wingers playing with Getzlaf and Corey Perry and while Rickard Rakell is doing a pretty good job with them lately, he doesn't have the same playoff pedigree that Ladd has.

For a franchise that is trying to get over the top, bringing in a two-time Stanley Cup winner is a no-brainer.

As for the players, picks or prospects coming back to the Jets, the Ducks have an influx of talent on the back end, which could make it easier to move one of them – even for a rental player.

Much of the talk has circled around the difficulty the Ducks could have in keeping pending restricted free agents Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm, but they might also be willing to part with someone like Cam Fowler, who is under contract for two more seasons at a reasonable cap hit of $4 million.

The Ducks also have defencemen in the minors who are either knocking on the door or ready to make the jump as full-timers.

So if the Jets prefer to go with a deal similar to the one the Chicago Blackhawks made for Antoine Vermette last spring, bringing in a first-round pick and a prospect would make sense as well.

ken.wiebe@sunmedia.ca

Twitter.com/WiebeSunSports