Several weeks ago, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman called up Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff about the availability of captain Andrew Ladd.

“I just mentioned if he ever gets to the point where he decides he’s going to maybe move Andrew, that we were definitely a team that wanted to bring him back,” Bowman told reporters Thursday after he acquired Ladd, a player who won a Stanley Cup with the Hawks in 2010. “The big thing for us is just the familiarity that he has with not only our coaching staff but our players. He’s maintained a friendship with a number of our players, and that’s important.”

Along with knowing a lot about Ladd, both through his time in Chicago and games against the Jets in the Central Division, the Hawks added someone who could play top line minutes in several different roles.

On Thursday, the Blackhawks traded for Ladd, defenseman Jay Harrison and forward Matt Fraser for forward Marko Dano, a 2016 first-round pick and a conditional draft pick.

Ladd, who had a modified no-trade clause, said he had Chicago high up on his list of teams.

"Just the familiarity with the organization and the guys that are already on the team, it just makes an easy transition for me regardless of who I get a chance to play with," Ladd said. "You’re going to a team that has a chance to win the Stanley Cup. That’s always an exciting prospect for anyone."

When asked about where Ladd fits line-wise, Bowman deferred to coach Joel Quenneville, but he brought up several situations where Ladd excels.

“On their team he does it all, he plays on the power play, the penalty killing,” Bowman said. “Plays a lot of minutes 5-on-5. He brings a lot of leadership to the group.”

Ladd seems like the type of fit who would work well on Jonathan Toews’ wing. Since last summer when Chicago traded Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad, Toews and Marian Hossa have struggled to find the third component to their line.

And as the 37-year-old Hossa has declined to a degree, Toews’ game has suffered. Recently, Toews has been on a line with Andrew Shaw and Richard Panik as his wings with Hossa hurt. Last season Ladd had 62 points in 81 games with Winnipeg. So far this season he has 17 goals and 17 assists in 59 games played.

"I mean, if I end up playing with them, I think I play pretty simple style of hockey," Ladd said. "I know their games pretty well and they’re obviously great two-way players. I think I should fit in well with that mold. Do I try to play a solid two-way game, but be able to chip in physically, make some room for them? Bring some offense to that table as well."

Bowman said Dano is “going to be a good NHL player for a long time and that’s that trade off in these kind of deals.”

But according to Bowman, this is the type of deal a team has to make if it’s in its window of Stanley Cup opportunity. Chicago won a Cup last season and has been battling with the Dallas Stars for first place in the Central Division this year.

“There’s the give and take of the future and the present but we’re really excited for what Ladd brings to our group,” Bowman said.

He added, “it’s always hard” to trade a first-round draft pick.

Ladd is a pending unrestricted free agent in the final season of a four-year, $22 million contract. Bowman was asked if he had thought about re-signing Ladd.

“Whenever we bring somebody in, that’s something we hope to look at down the road. It’s a little hard to forecast that at this point,” Bowman said. “I think right now we’re focused on what he brings to the table down the stretch here and we’ll address the rest of that as we go.”

Ladd took a similar patient approach.

"I think there’s a lot of moving parts on that and you see obviously I’m going to go back and fit in well with the group, but there’s so many things that go into that," Ladd said. "We’ll just have to wait and see and obviously hope they go there and it turns out really well, and I play well and make them think about re-signing me but we’ll cross that bridge when we have to."

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper