Amid the buying and selling, the fire sales, and the calculated moves to bolster playoff rosters that usually precede the NHL trade deadline, this year a little bit of warmth seeped into what otherwise is typically the frigid business side of the sport. Late in the day, theColumbus Blue Jacketsannounced that they had traded veteran D-manJordan Leopoldto the Minnesota Wild for defensemanJustin Falkand a fifth-round pick in the upcoming draft. The move would have likely gone largely unnoticed, except that there was a little more to the story behind this deal.
Leopold, acquired from the St. Louis Blues last November in the midst of a blue line crisis precipitated by an injury toFedor Tyutin, among others, is a Minnesota native whose family stayed put when he came to Columbus. A true professional, Jordan has done everything asked of him during his stint with the Jackets – including moving to forward for a couple of games – so,according toJackets’ GM Jarmo Kekalainen, when the team became aware of his desire to return home to his family the gears began to turn.
As if that wasn’t enough, a letter written by Leopold’s 11-year-old daughter Jordyn to the Minnesota Wild began making the rounds of the Twitterverse.
It isn't always just about business...pic.twitter.com/uVDV3K2Nky””
— Jarmo Kekalainen (@jkekalainen)March 2, 2015
“Please, please, please ask the Jackets if you guys can get him,” she pleads. How can you not smile, and sympathize, at that?
Leopold “has been a great pro since joining our hockey club in November and this was an opportunity for us to acquire a good, young defenseman in Justin Falk and another pick in this year’s draft, while giving Jordan the opportunity to re-join his family in the Twin Cities,” said Kekalainen when announcing the trade.
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As for Justin Falk, who will be making his Blue Jackets debut on Tuesday night against the Washington Capitals, he’s a big-bodied defense-oriented blue liner who has tallied 15 blocked shots and 6 hits in 13 games with the Wild this season. A fourth-round pick in the 2007 draft, Falk’s offensive production leaves much to be desired (1 goal in 142 career games) but, being a spot player, he still has the potential to improve.
More importantly, the real winner here is Jordan Leopold and his family.
Next: Grading David Clarkson's First Weekend as a Columbus Blue Jacket
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