Jordan Leopold's daughter, and the heartwarming fan letter behind her father's trade to the Wild

The Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets pulled off a relatively minor trade before the 3 p.m. Eastern trade deadline, but when Minnesota landed Jordan Leopold from the Jackets, they not only acquired a veteran defenseman, but granted the wish of a young hockey fan – Leopold's 11-year-old daughter, Jordyn.

Due to his duties with the Jackets this season, Jordan Leopold, a native of Golden Valley, Minn., hadn't been back home since November. And in a letter sent to the Wild in January – and obtained by Minneapolis-St. Paul-based radio station KFAN 100.3 – his daughter Jordyn made a heartfelt request for the team to consider acquiring her father:

Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen said he hadn't seen Jordyn Leopold's letter prior to the trade, but he'd already been investigating the possibility of trading Jordan Leopold to a place he could be near his family. Wild GM Chuck Fletcher said after the trade he had seen Jordyn Leopold's letter, and was touched by it as well.

The Blue Jackets received defenseman Justin Falk and a fifth-round pick in return for the 34-year-old Leopold's services, but they and the Wild acquired a large amount of goodwill from hockey fans (not to mention, the Leopold household) for considering the human side of the game before making personnel decisions.