Who ever said that one person can’t make a difference is wrong.
Jordan Leopold is one of those players that seems to get well “moved”
around a lot this time of year. In fact, he actually just traded for the
4th time in his career and is finally going home. The Minnesota native
was just traded to his home state from the Columbus Blue Jackets
yesterday. What’s not amazing is the trade, but what is amazing is how
is came to happen.
Usually trades that happen in sports are decisions based on money and
performance, not warm fuzzy feelings. Jordan Leopold’s trade was
different. Thanks to Jordan’s daughter, Jordyn, we have all been
reminded that sports are sometimes about people, not just about the
numbers.
Jordyn Leopold is the 11-year old daughter of Jordan, the 34 year old
defenseman who was playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets this season.
In January, she wrote a litter to the Minnesota Wild front office asking
the team to trade for her father, who happens to be a Minnesota
native. The letter reads “My dad is very lonely without his family. We
are living in Minnestoa right now and I am lost without my dad and so it
my mom, my 2 sisters and my brother. My dad is on a team with young
guys and very lonely and is not playing because the Jackets got him
because they needed a D-man. It has been since November and we cannot
take it anymore.” She goes on to pull their heart strings a little bit
tighter “Please, please, please ask the Jackets if you guys could get
him.”
On Monday March 2nd, Minnesota did just that, they traded defenseman
Justin Falk and a fifth round draft pick for Jordyn Leopold’s dad.
Here is the original letter from Jordyn. We don’t blame you if you
get a little misty eyed, we did. Sometimes when all you hear in sports
in money, scandal and stats, its nice to remember that sports really
does have a good side.