The Edmonton Oilers have released Jake Virtanen from his professional tryout contract, according to Darren Dreger of TSN.
Now 26, Virtanen hasn’t played in the NHL since being put on leave by the Vancouver Canucks in 2021 after allegations of sexual assault were raised. He was eventually bought out by the team in the offseason and spent 2021-22 in the KHL, scoring nine goals and 16 points in 36 games.
After being found not guilty earlier this summer, Virtanen is attempting an NHL comeback, but he’ll have to do it somewhere other than Edmonton now that his PTO has been terminated. The sixth-overall pick from 2014 is a free agent again and it is unclear what kind of other opportunities await him in North America.
While a year away from the league certainly didn’t help things, Virtanen was already struggling to keep a spot in an NHL lineup. In 2020-21 he had just five goals in 38 games (zero assists) and has never been a consistent offensive threat.
His size and skating ability suggest he could be an effective player, but there have been too many games where his presence has been absent. To change that perception and keep his career afloat, he may have to work his way back up from the minor leagues, especially given how close it is to the regular season without a contract in hand.
Guess he’s probably looking at signing for HC Donbass in the Ukraine…
I can bring a lot to Donbas and Donbas. I’m a go-getter!
I hear they need a defensive forward. Forward line keeps collapsing
Where are all the “Virtanen got blackballed” conspiracy theorists now? Guy just isn’t very good, get over it.
Are the Oilers going to apologize to Virtanen?
Is wilf gonna apologize to the Canucks?
@JD – The team probably needs to apologize to the fans that were screaming at them not to do this in the first place. I don’t think he pushed anybody to be better than him. One of the differences between Virtanen and Milano in CGY was that this was at least somewhat expected with Virtanen, but some had higher hopes for Milano. Hopefully, Milano doesn’t get a case of “Goldilocks-itis” where he has to go door-to-door asking for the right fit for him. And, for the record, many of the fans against the PTO for Virtanen believed he just wasn’t good enough, and not because of the off-ice business.
Yay, no Jake! *goes back to nut-hugging Evander*