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Leopold's daughter asked for trade to Wild in letter

Monday, 03.02.2015 / 8:26 PM / 2015 NHL Trade Deadline

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Leopold's daughter asked for trade to Wild in letter
A handwritten letter from the 11-year-old daughter of Jordan Leopold to the Minnesota Wild coaching staff surfaced Monday shortly after the defenseman was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Wild.

Maybe Jordyn Leopold has a future in hockey management.

A handwritten letter from the 11-year-old daughter of Jordan Leopold to the Minnesota Wild coaching staff surfaced Monday shortly after the defenseman was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Wild.

The Wild added Leopold, a Golden Valley, Minn., native, from the Blue Jackets for defenseman Justin Falk and a fifth-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

"I didn’t even know she wrote it," her mom Jamie Leopold told KFAN radio in Minneapolis. "She left it on the counter, went to school one day, and I read it and just started bawling."

Jordyn Leopold's letter was a plea for the Wild to start winning more games (it was sent before goaltender Devan Dubnyk arrived and Minnesota became one of the hottest teams in the NHL), because her father was lonely in Ohio without her, her mother and her three siblings.

"My dad is very [lonely] without his family," Jordyn Leopold wrote. "We are living in Minnesota right now and I am lost without my dad and so is my mom, my two sisters and my brother."

She wanted the Wild to trade for her father, and she got her wish Monday.

"I put it on Facebook back in January and showed it to my friends and family and everyone said, ‘Send it, send it,’” Jamie Leopold said. "I was really hesitant to do it because we really liked Columbus and we had such a good experience there and we didn't want anyone to feel bad. But my daughter just wanted her daddy home."

The Blue Jackets acquired Leopold from the St. Louis Blues in a trade on Nov. 15.

"[Trading] Jordan Leopold was about doing the right thing for a guy who was a great pro for us," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "He's done everything we asked him to do the right way.

"We gave up a fifth-round pick to St. Louis to get him; we got our fifth back. We got Justin Falk to join our team the rest of the way this year, and Jordan Leopold gets to go home and join his family. We thank him for everything we did for the franchise. He was a great pro."

Leopold had one goal and three points in 25 games this season for the Blue Jackets. He played college hockey at the University of Minnesota and won the Hobey Baker Award in 2002.

"Very good writer," Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher said. "In fact, we may have an opening on our communication staff.

"I'm telling you, it was a pretty powerful letter. She hit on a good few points. Again, we’re excited for Jordan. He was a star here in high school and a star in college and is very familiar with all of our players from the summer, from skating with them and skating with a few of them. We think it'll be a good fit. ... You can’t have enough defensemen."

Leopold made his NHL debut Oct. 19, 2002 for the Calgary Flames and the Wild will be his eighth team.

"It has been since November and well we cannot take it anymore," Jordyn Leopold wrote. "Can you please, please, please ask the Jackets if you guys can get him!"

Jamie Leopold said she sent a picture to Jordan, who also got emotional because he'd been away from his family for so long.

"It's been a long couple of months," she said. "But we're really excited."

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