Handful of Teams Expressing Interest in Jake Virtanen Following 'Not-Guilty' Verdict
Just weeks after his acquittal, Jake Virtanen is drawing interest from a handful of teams, according to Rick Dhaliwal. Virtanen was initially charged with one degree of sexual assault, but he was found not-guilty by a jury in July.
During the proceedings, Virtanen was ousted from the NHL and forced to play in Russia's KHL instead. In 39 games with Spartak Moscow, he managed 16 points. His NHL career was not on solid footing by any means before his legal issues. With the Vancouver Canucks, Virtanen skated in 317 games, totaling 100 career points, including 3 points in 16 playoff matches.
As Dhaliwal suggests, Virtanen's previous production woes coupled with his issues with the law make him a very affordable power forward for teams looking to pursue a Stanley Cup. What this says about the NHL and its tolerance for sexual abuse is up to the individual.
Virtanen was acquitted, but the details of the case do not exactly paint the picture of a saintly fellow. But the Oilers have proven that they can absorb players with potentially toxic behavior and still have success. It is still important to note, however, there are several other teams in and around Virtanen as well.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 7 | 278 ANSWERS Handful of Teams Expressing Interest in Jake Virtanen Following 'Not-Guilty' Verdict Should Jake Virtanen be able to return to the NHL? | ||
| Yes | 152 | 54.7 % |
| No | 60 | 21.6 % |
| See Results | 66 | 23.7 % |
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20 MAI 2026
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| B | P | PTS | ||
| Dylan Coghlan | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nic Dowd | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Colton | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Tomas Hertl | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ben Hutton | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mitch Marner | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brandon Saad | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Colton Sissons | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Devon Toews | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Ahcan | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| Brent Burns | - | - | - | |
| Jack Drury | - | - | - | |
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