Jordyn Leopold’s letter never reached the team, but her wish still came true.
Veteran player Jordan Leopold was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Minnesota Wild this week in exchange for Justin Falk, the Blue Jackets said.
Before the deal was made, Leopold's 11-year-old daughter Jordyn wrote a letter to the coaches of the Wild because she said she wanted them to help him come back home.
Leopold played college hockey at the University of Minnesota and his wife and four children still live there.
Jordyn said in her letter that her dad is very lonely without them in Ohio, and the family misses him.
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jordan Leopold (3) and Boston Bruins center Alex Kohkhlachev (76) battle for the puck during the third period at Nationwide Arena.
Usa Today Sports / Reuters
"It has been since November and we can not take it anymore," she wrote.
Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said that the letter was not the reason he traded Leopold, as the deal was already done when he saw it. However, he said the team knew Leopold was looking to be closer to home.
"He's a great pro," he said. "We wanted to do the right thing with Jordan Leopold. That's what we had talked about the whole time, we knew that his family was in Minnesota. There is a human side, believe it or not, to our business."
Kekalainen posted the letter on Twitter and it quickly spread online.
Leopold's wife Jamie told Fox 9 that she was too nervous to actually send the letter to the Wild, even though her friends urged her to.
She said she posted the letter to her Facebook page, and it must have leaked from there.
Kekalainen said that he is happy that it all worked out Leopold and his family.
"I think that it's great that he can go home, join his family," he said. "I see that letter and it's really touching."
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