Jake Virtanen | #18 | RW

[Zhukini]

He’s checked out. There’s not a lot I wouldn’t bet he’s in a different t jersey next year.

I could care less if he scores 30 with the Bruins, it was never ever going to work out here. Kid in a candy store, when he doesn’t have to play hockey. World is his oyster.

[N4ZZY]

7 minutes ago, Zhukini said:

He’s checked out. There’s not a lot I wouldn’t bet he’s in a different t jersey next year.

I could care less if he scores 30 with the Bruins, it was never ever going to work out here. Kid in a candy store, when he doesn’t have to play hockey. World is his oyster.

Yeah. I feel the same way now. He hasn't done a thing in these playoffs. 

 

Not surprised when he's traded this off-season to another team. It's just too bad, man. Wish the local kid could become a star, but if he does become a star, it's unfortunately not going to be with the Canucks. 

 

It's just too &^@#ing bad. 

 

[N4ZZY]

9 hours ago, J-Dizzle said:

I don’t think ‘eventual upside’ is the question anymore.  We’ve seen what Jake can be.  The question is mental imho.... can he bring the good version of himself to work day in and day out. 

Still the question right? 

 

[N4ZZY]

9 hours ago, Provost said:

I didn't see that... but there have been the other comments made by players during this that maybe make it clear they don't particularly see him as a guy they want to go to war with.  Bo yelling at him in practice... a few players basically saying he is dumb and has to make smarter decisions when they are on the ice practicing and Jake is at the clubs partying.

I can't imagine how annoyed I would be to be a fringe player scrabbling to give everything you have and watch a guy with all the tools just not have the brain to figure it out.

I mean Motte has been a wrecking ball out there getting beat on mercilessly by the other team's best players.  Oscar freaking Fantenberg is doing his best Willie Mitchell impersonation by taking it to the opposing forwards physically.  Just imagine the respect they are gaining in the room from that play even though they are just not physically built for that style of game.

If he isn't able to score, you should at least notice Virtanen on the ice making the Blues players miserable.

As Benning and Green keep mentioning... we want guys here who love playing and we can win with.  It seems like Jake is just not that guy.  He has finished 5 NHL seasons, he should be at his prime and we shouldn't be talking about eventual upside still.

But, but, but.....late bloomer? 

 

[Smashian Kassian]

Plus side is he scored 18 goals & has speed. He's got value to get us something back.

 

Unless we decide to package him to get out from under a bad contract (which may be worthwhile)

 

 

[Crabcakes]

20 hours ago, Fred65 said:

Lest we forget here's Bennings opinion of Virtanen

 

 

That's the tool box that Jake lugs around.  It's impressive and clearly they expected development.

 

Is all this a result of him playing in the NHL too soon?  He's had 5 years and plenty of rope.

 

When he went to play in the World Juniors and looked like a fish out of water I was thinking wow, what's with this guy?  If he was over matched in the NHL, why was he so ineffective at the WJC and didn't seem to know what to do?

 

I think the answer was that when he goes into new situations, he is very slow to adjust.  Slow starts every year.  Is this another slow start?  It's the friggin playoffs man!

 

The other motivator that seems to be lost on him is that he's on an expiring contract.  He's certainly not earning much of a raise.

 

I'd hate to see them cut bait with Jake because of the tools he has but these playoff games are most telling in terms of player evaluation.  He's laying an egg.  The Canucks are in a cap crunch this year, how can they renew Jake if he's going to be a passenger.

[BoKnows]

21 minutes ago, Crabcakes said:

That's the tool box that Jake lugs around.  It's impressive and clearly they expected development.

 

Is all this a result of him playing in the NHL too soon?  He's had 5 years and plenty of rope.

 

When he went to play in the World Juniors and looked like a fish out of water I was thinking wow, what's with this guy?  If he was over matched in the NHL, why was he so ineffective at the WJC and didn't seem to know what to do?

 

I think the answer was that when he goes into new situations, he is very slow to adjust.  Slow starts every year.  Is this another slow start?  It's the friggin playoffs man!

 

The other motivator that seems to be lost on him is that he's on an expiring contract.  He's certainly not earning much of a raise.

 

I'd hate to see them cut bait with Jake because of the tools he has but these playoff games are most telling in terms of player evaluation.  He's laying an egg.  The Canucks are in a cap crunch this year, how can they renew Jake if he's going to be a passenger.

I think Jake's biggest problem is that he prioritizes partying over training.  I'm ready to see his departure.  I don't know what we can get in return for his rights.

[Nucker 67]

1 hour ago, BoKnows said:

I think Jake's biggest problem is that he prioritizes partying over training.  I'm ready to see his departure.  I don't know what we can get in return for his rights.

The great players (Linden, the Sedins, Horvat, Pettersson, Hughes, etc) all have excellent work ethic. They want to be the best and lead by example. I'm not sure what Jake's priorities are, but I'm now wondering if his heart is even into playing hockey anymore. He doesn't look like he's having any fun, he looks frustrated, lost, a step behind. My giess is he doesn't get a lot of love from team mates. Bad team guy? The effort really isn't there either. I think for him, a good shift is when he doesn't make any glaring mistakes and he throws a hit. That's a pretty low bar for a 5-year NHL player with his skill set.

[BoKnows]

5 minutes ago, NUCKER67 said:

The great players (Linden, the Sedins, Horvat, Pettersson, Hughes, etc) all have excellent work ethic. They want to be the best and lead by example. I'm not sure what Jake's priorities are, but I'm now wondering if his heart is even into playing hockey anymore. He doesn't look like he's having any fun, he looks frustrated, lost, a step behind. My giess is he doesn't get a lot of love from team mates. Bad team guy? The effort really isn't there either. I think for him, a good shift is when he doesn't make any glaring mistakes and he throws a hit. That's a pretty low bar for a 5-year NHL player with his skill set.

It must be tough to see younger players who were drafted around the same area as him become all-stars.  His confidence is probably shot, which sucks cause he did show some progress earlier in the season.  It's like he took one step forward then 2 steps back.  I'd sign for another year at a low rate.  One last season on the 4th line to turn the ship around.

[Nucker 67]

33 minutes ago, BoKnows said:

It must be tough to see younger players who were drafted around the same area as him become all-stars.  His confidence is probably shot, which sucks cause he did show some progress earlier in the season.  It's like he took one step forward then 2 steps back.  I'd sign for another year at a low rate.  One last season on the 4th line to turn the ship around.

Not a bad idea, if he can be had cheap enough. I wonder who Jake hangs around with in the bubble. Does he have friends on the team or other teams? Or does he spend all of his time alone, hanging out at the lounge or whatever. We always see photos of Pettersson, Boeser, Hughes, Tanev etc. all hanging out, but we never see Jake with other team mates.

[BoKnows]

15 minutes ago, NUCKER67 said:

Not a bad idea, if he can be had cheap enough. I wonder who Jake hangs around with in the bubble. Does he have friends on the team or other teams? Or does he spend all of his time alone, hanging out at the lounge or whatever. We always see photos of Pettersson, Boeser, Hughes, Tanev etc. all hanging out, but we never see Jake with other team mates.

We should be able to sign him for cheap.  I don't think there will be too many teams rushing over to sign Jake for my than $2M

[coho8888]

Unfortunately I tend to agree with others here that he may have checked out.  At this point I don't really mind that he isn't scoring or contributing offensively.  I just want him to be more engaged physically.  If you've been put on the 3rd line playing less minutes, there is no excuse not to be able to bring it physically on every shift.  They need the Blues players to be looking over their shoulders every time he is on the ice.  A good hit from him could certainly provide the rest of the team with the energy and momentum they need to get through this series.

 

I'll give Jake the benefit of the doubt here though.  Not sure who is in his circle of friends but in order to have that "Party" life, you need others to party with.  They aren't doing him many favors.  Also, not every player has the same drive as a Bo, Quinn or Elias.  Its pretty hard to live up to that.  Even in our own lives, not many here can say that they actually reached the potential that they could have.  The NHL is full of first rounders who never lived up to their potential most likely because they lacked that drive.  Can't really fault anyone for that.  You either have it or you don't.  

 

 

[Chicken.]

2 hours ago, NUCKER67 said:

The great players (Linden, the Sedins, Horvat, Pettersson, Hughes, etc) all have excellent work ethic. They want to be the best and lead by example. I'm not sure what Jake's priorities are, but I'm now wondering if his heart is even into playing hockey anymore. He doesn't look like he's having any fun, he looks frustrated, lost, a step behind. My giess is he doesn't get a lot of love from team mates. Bad team guy? The effort really isn't there either. I think for him, a good shift is when he doesn't make any glaring mistakes and he throws a hit. That's a pretty low bar for a 5-year NHL player with his skill set.

As sad as it is to come around to this idea I would be lying to myself if I didn't agree. 

 

Perhaps he did not take the off-season training seriously enough and it is now sinking in that playing intense high stakes hockey is not fun when everyone else is in top shape ripping around and you are out of breath after a couple hard $&!#s (meant to type SHIFTS..LOL)

 

It all comes down to motivation and effort when I watch Jake and I am not seeing a lot of it, just little spurts here and there.

Edited August 18, 2020 by Chicken.

[Hogs & Podz]

I posted a couple weeks back when I saw Virtanen having a brief chirp with Boeser (he was mic'd up).  It wasn't much but Boeser's tone with Virtanen, to me sounded dismissive.  More of an annoyance.  Boeser in all interviews, has shown/exudes nothing but kindness, so to see a difference in his demeanor was noticeable, all be it fleeting.  I also recall shortly after being drafted, the rumour that Virtanen didn't have any of his teammates show up to one of his birthday parties.... A teammate saying that 'nobody liked him'.  I took this as a untrue rumour, and it may be.  Regardless of my speculation, actions speak louder than words.  His actions are showing that he's not battling for his teammates.  His actions to this point, are showing that he's going through the motions and being and individual.  It's a character thing with Virtanen... 

I don't think its been mentioned enough that, in order to be a really effective high quality nhl player you have to know how to be and encapsulate being the 'ultimate teammate'.  Virtanen won't get any better unless he understands and wants to be a better friend/teammate.  I hope that he can 'flick the switch' and become a beast but like most here, I'm losing faith.

 

[dpn1]

2 hours ago, NUCKER67 said:

Not a bad idea, if he can be had cheap enough. I wonder who Jake hangs around with in the bubble. Does he have friends on the team or other teams? Or does he spend all of his time alone, hanging out at the lounge or whatever. We always see photos of Pettersson, Boeser, Hughes, Tanev etc. all hanging out, but we never see Jake with other team mates.

About a year ago I heard an interview with Markie and he said that Jake is well liked by his team mates.  He is one of the guys who helps to keep things light and does some great work with CAN.

[BoKnows]

43 minutes ago, Hogs & Podz said:

I posted a couple weeks back when I saw Virtanen having a brief chirp with Boeser (he was mic'd up).  It wasn't much but Boeser's tone with Virtanen, to me sounded dismissive.  More of an annoyance.  Boeser in all interviews, has shown/exudes nothing but kindness, so to see a difference in his demeanor was noticeable, all be it fleeting.  I also recall shortly after being drafted, the rumour that Virtanen didn't have any of his teammates show up to one of his birthday parties.... A teammate saying that 'nobody liked him'.  I took this as a untrue rumour, and it may be.  Regardless of my speculation, actions speak louder than words.  His actions are showing that he's not battling for his teammates.  His actions to this point, are showing that he's going through the motions and being and individual.  It's a character thing with Virtanen... 

I don't think its been mentioned enough that, in order to be a really effective high quality nhl player you have to know how to be and encapsulate being the 'ultimate teammate'.  Virtanen won't get any better unless he understands and wants to be a better friend/teammate.  I hope that he can 'flick the switch' and become a beast but like most here, I'm losing faith.

 

I remember that rumour being floated around as well.  I think it was when he was still in the WHL though.

[Nucker 67]

Love Bieksa as a part of the NHL panel during these playoffs. Breathe of fresh air, and he's funny, tells it like it is. I'd love to hear what he thinks of Jake and his play so far. 

[Hogs & Podz]

1 hour ago, BoKnows said:

I remember that rumour being floated around as well.  I think it was when he was still in the WHL though.

Yah it was when he was with his whl team.  I figured at the time, "well even if true, they're just kids and he'll figure it out...".  Well... I think 5 years later, we're still waiting. 

[BoKnows]

1 minute ago, Hogs & Podz said:

Yah it was when he was with his whl team.  I figured at the time, "well even if true, they're just kids and he'll figure it out...".  Well... I think 5 years later, we're still waiting. 

What 17-19 year old doesn't want to party with their teammate?

[N4ZZY]

6 hours ago, Crabcakes said:

That's the tool box that Jake lugs around.  It's impressive and clearly they expected development.

 

Is all this a result of him playing in the NHL too soon?  He's had 5 years and plenty of rope.

 

When he went to play in the World Juniors and looked like a fish out of water I was thinking wow, what's with this guy?  If he was over matched in the NHL, why was he so ineffective at the WJC and didn't seem to know what to do?

 

I think the answer was that when he goes into new situations, he is very slow to adjust.  Slow starts every year.  Is this another slow start?  It's the friggin playoffs man!

 

The other motivator that seems to be lost on him is that he's on an expiring contract.  He's certainly not earning much of a raise.

 

I'd hate to see them cut bait with Jake because of the tools he has but these playoff games are most telling in terms of player evaluation.  He's laying an egg.  The Canucks are in a cap crunch this year, how can they renew Jake if he's going to be a passenger.

Renew him for cheap. He can be a cheap middle six or bottom six forward. If he thrives and he proves that he deserves a better contract, then great, we either have a trade possibility (plays better than his contract and produces offence), at such a time, we cut bait, and he can sign wherever he wants to. 

 

I mean, he might even be replaced by some of the younger players coming in like Podkolzin, or even Höglander - and those guys will be on ELC's, so their contracts will be cheap at that time, and if they're producing way more than Virtanen is, then it's easy decision at that time.