Letestu lands back in familiar territory

Mark Letestu knew he was getting traded. He just didn’t know it would be twice in one day.

His kids were hoping their dad was going to Nashville, and he was ever so briefly before realizing he had been immediately traded again.

“They liked the Predators jerseys and for a 15-minute window (Sunday), I thought I’d be wearing lots of yellow,” Letestu said.

Soon after the Edmonton Oilers centre was dealt to the Predators on Sunday morning for Swedish winger Pontus Aberg, Nashville flipped the 33-year-old Letestu off to his old Columbus Blue Jackets team.

In some ways, it was the best move Letestu could have hoped for because he already has a house in Columbus.

“Good thing I didn’t give my wife a call right away until it was hashed out. My head was spinning, I thought I was going to one team, then I go to another. But when I did call her, it was one of the happier calls. She’s got lots of friends there.

“Settling in Columbus, I don’t know if there’s a more comfortable situation because I know the staff and there’s still a lot of my former teammates there,” said Letestu.

“Mark is a very good player who will bring versatility and experience to our lineup. He can play on the power play, kill penalties and is very good in the faceoff circle,” Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. “He is also a person of very high character who

made an impact on and off the ice during his previous time here and we are very happy to bring him back to Columbus.”

But what about life outside the rink?

“I may have to get a mattress and put it down on the floor, but at least I won’t be in a hotel for the next few months,” said Letestu, who bought the house last summer in the suburb of Dublin, Ohio, where Jack Nicklaus’s The Memorial PGA tournament is played.

“My house is about 300 yards from Jarmo’s. He must have been keeping an eye on me.”

Letestu played parts of four seasons with the Blue Jackets before

signing a three-year contract with the Oilers in 2015.

In dealing the unrestricted free agent, the Oilers are losing one of their team leaders and likely their most versatile player who spent time on both the power play and penalty kill.

Oilers coach Todd McLellan said he hates to see Letestu go.

“He brought a ton to our team, more than can be evaluated by his on-ice performance and statistical measurements. Very well respected by his teammates, more than you can imagine,” McLellan said. “Utility player, controlled the fourth line and had a good year and a half, but went a bit dry lately.”