Oilers among 4-5 teams interested in ex-Canuck Jake Virtanen: report

Is an NHL return in the cards for Jake Virtanen?

The 26-year-old power forward is a free agent and is drawing interest from multiple teams, including the Edmonton Oilers, according to Rick Dhaliwal.

“Jake Virtanen… I do believe the Oilers are one of the teams in the mix. I think there’s four or five,” Dhaliwal said this week on Donnie and Dhali, which began its second season on CHEK television this week. “Jake Virtanen, the size, speed, he comes cheap — so that’s why there are four or five teams in on him.”

Virtanen hasn’t played an NHL game since being placed on leave by the Vancouver Canucks on May 1, 2021, after accusations of sexual misconduct first became public. The Abbotsford product was charged with sexual assault in January, but a jury later found Virtanen not guilty.

The 6-foot-1 winger played last season in Russia, finding limited success with Moscow Spartak, scoring 16 points (9-7-16) in 36 KHL games. He had his contract terminated by Spartak in March, after he left the team following Russia’s war on Ukraine.

A first-round selection in 2014, Virtanen never lived up to expectations the Canucks had for a sixth overall draft choice. Virtanen has great size and speed but left everyone wanting more in every other area of his game during his time in Vancouver.

Virtanen set career-highs in goals (18), assists (18), and points (35) in 2019-20, but followed that up with five goals and no assists in 38 games in 2020-21. He has 100 career points (55-45-100) in his 317-game career.

It remains to be seen if Virtanen will receive an NHL contract this season, and as Dhaliwal noted, he’ll have to come cheap. Perhaps Virtanen will have to settle for a two-way contract, which would pay him less in the AHL, or skate at a team’s training camp on a pro tryout.

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