Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Insider Reveals How Brock Nelson Turned Down A Trade To A Top Canadian Contender

Originally posted on Blade of Steel | By Tom Banks | Last updated May 29, 2025 11:52 PM ET

The Winnipeg Jets attempted to land Brock Nelson at the 2025 trade deadline, but now, it's been revealed that he turned down a potential blockbuster move.

The 2025 NHL trade deadline was full of surprises, good moves and bad moves, and perhaps the move that had the most potential to impact a contender was the Colorado Avalanche acquiring veteran forward Brock Nelson.

Unfortunately, the move didn't work out too well for either party, as the Avalanche were eliminated in round one behind a disappointing showing from Nelson, and now he heads into free agency as one of the top centres available on the market.

Now, Marco D'Amico has revealed a shock story, noting that it was originally the Winnipeg Jets that were set to acquire Nelson, but at the last minute, the veteran American forward turned down the deal, opting instead to go to an American squad after spending all of his career thus far in New York.

Instead, the Jets would pivot to landing Brandon Tanev and Luke Schenn at the deadline, and while they got through the first round, they too lost to the Dallas Stars, meaning that Nelson would have had just one more round if he had accepted to go to Winnipeg.

For a proud American that hasn't played in Canada his whole career, it makes sense that Nelson didn't want to uproot his career to go north of the border for a few months, with this move showing just how hard it is for some Canadian teams to land top players in the NHL.

Ultimately, it wasn't revealed exactly why Nelson turned the deal down, but it's not the first time we've seen a Canadian team fail to land a top talent in a trade due to their unwillingness to relocate to another country, and even as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference this past season, it's not going to be easy for Winnipeg to acquire top stars moving forward either.

This article first appeared on Blade of Steel and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: