Canucks move on from Jake Virtanen
This will represent a significant savings for the Canucks when it comes to this season's salary cap, with Virtanen's cap hit dropping all the way down to just $50,000 for the first year of the buyout penalty. It's true that the Canucks will have to take on an additional penalty for Virtanen's cap hit next season as well, but even then it will only come in at $500,000 against the cap making this effectively a $2 million savings against the cap for the Canucks in total.
The buyout comes as no surprise given the off-ice troubles that Virtanen has been dealing with in recent months. The Canucks forward was recently the target of very serious allegations of sexual abuse and has become the subject of civil litigation as it pertains to that matter. Virtanen has denied the allegations according to a response to that litigation that was filed in the player's defense. This has left a dark cloud hanging over the head of Virtanen, although he remains innocent until proven guilty, especially in light of some of the other scandals around the league at this time.
The reality is that Virtanen had largely failed to live up to the expectations the Canucks had for him when they selected him 6th overall at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, especially when you consider the context that he was selected ahead of players like Kevin Fiala, William Nylander and David Pastrnak, and it feels like these off-ice troubles have served as the final nail in his coffin when it comes to his tenure with the Canucks. It remains to be seen if he will get another shot elsewhere in the National Hockey League, but I suspect that will largely depend on how his current legal troubles play out.
Credit: HockeyFeed
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Was this the right move for the Canucks? | ||
| Yes | 74 | 57.4 % |
| No | 55 | 42.6 % |
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