[Signing] Jake Virtanen signs with HC Spartak Moscow (KHL)

[theo5789]

57 minutes ago, Filthy McNasty said:

If jake is successful there and becomes a goal scoring hard hitting top six forward is it fair to say coaching mishandled him

Or it could be fair to say that he needed a change of scenery. Plus would need to see him return to the NHL and actually excel to really dig deeper.

[tas]

1 hour ago, gurn said:

317 games in the NHL, shows he has what it takes, to be 3rd line/4th line winger.

Almost any other hockey players brain, in Jake's body would be a 1 or 2 line winger.

it shows that a team that drafted a local kid 6th overall has a lot invested and is loathe to cut bait. 

Edited September 23, 2021 by tas

[Gurn]

317 games in the best league in the world. If Jake sucked he would have been gone after a year.

[sassbs]

3 hours ago, gurn said:

317 games in the NHL, shows he has what it takes, to be 3rd line/4th line winger.

Almost any other hockey players brain, in Jake's body would be a 1 or 2 line winger.

I don’t think that means anything. If he was on any other team he would’ve been dumped and stuck in the ahl. The only reason he last as long as he did was because van drafted him and didn’t want to show fans the pick was a bust!    Imo of course 

[Gurn]

1 minute ago, sassbs said:

I don’t think that means anything. If he was on any other team he would’ve been dumped and stuck in the ahl. The only reason he last as long as he did was because van drafted him and didn’t want to show fans the pick was a bust!    Imo of course 

Busts don't get 317 games and 16 in the playoffs. 1st round pick be damned, J.B. traded McCaan- a first round pick- because he decided he wanted something else. No cares given about what it looked like.

 

[Chickenspear]

3 hours ago, gurn said:

317 games in the NHL, shows he has what it takes, to be 3rd line/4th line winger.

Almost any other hockey players brain, in Jake's body would be a 1 or 2 line winger.

Any other hockey player's brain in Jake's body would be wondering why it's so jiggly

[guntrix]

7 hours ago, gurn said:

Busts don't get 317 games and 16 in the playoffs. 1st round pick be damned, J.B. traded McCaan- a first round pick- because he decided he wanted something else. No cares given about what it looked like.

 

Everything’s always so straight-forward when you cut out the context. 
 

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player given so many chances to succeed. If it weren’t for his draft position and the fact that Benning seemingly went all-in on the local golden boy gamble with his very first pick on the job, he would’ve already been forgotten ages ago. 

[sassbs]

17 hours ago, gurn said:

Busts don't get 317 games and 16 in the playoffs. 1st round pick be damned, J.B. traded McCaan- a first round pick- because he decided he wanted something else. No cares given about what it looked like.

 

He was a bust!  I called it from day 1 and I got severely flamed for it.  Vancouver passed on a lot of talent that have all made significant impact on their respective teams, I feel this was Vancouver way of just keeping up appearances and saving themselves from the wrath of press and fans.   
Every year was a “this is the year for Jake”  truth is, the guy does not belong on any line, he is a legit ahl player. 
 

317 games was for hope that he turns into the next cam Neely.    He reminded me of a Kyle wellwood is instead.

 

[Ghostsof1915]

17 hours ago, gurn said:

Busts don't get 317 games and 16 in the playoffs. 1st round pick be damned, J.B. traded McCaan- a first round pick- because he decided he wanted something else. No cares given about what it looked like.

 

Actually it was more McCann was not going to be a 3rd line defensive centre. The Canucks needed defensive help so he was a good trade chip. It turns out the player we traded him for was a dud. Despite what success McCann has, he doesn't seem to stick with any team for more than 3 years. Maybe he'll find a home in Seattle. 

[iinatcc]

43 minutes ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Actually it was more McCann was not going to be a 3rd line defensive centre. The Canucks needed defensive help so he was a good trade chip. It turns out the player we traded him for was a dud. Despite what success McCann has, he doesn't seem to stick with any team for more than 3 years. Maybe he'll find a home in Seattle. 

Penguins had to trade McCann because of the expansion draft. From what I heard Penguin fans were very happy with him 

 

Benning actually had a pretty good 2014 draft Demko, Forsling, and McCann. If anything Benning's problem was (and still is) asset management

Edited September 24, 2021 by iinatcc

[N4ZZY]

18 hours ago, iinatcc said:

Penguins had to trade McCann because of the expansion draft. From what I heard Penguin fans were very happy with him 

 

Benning actually had a pretty good 2014 draft Demko, Forsling, and McCann. If anything Benning's problem was (and still is) asset management

I mean, that's a pretty big deal. 

 

[iinatcc]

1 hour ago, N4ZZY said:

I mean, that's a pretty big deal. 

 

Yep and until he proves otherwise this is still a huge problem 

[Dazzle]

23 hours ago, sassbs said:

He was a bust!  I called it from day 1 and I got severely flamed for it.  Vancouver passed on a lot of talent that have all made significant impact on their respective teams, I feel this was Vancouver way of just keeping up appearances and saving themselves from the wrath of press and fans.   
Every year was a “this is the year for Jake”  truth is, the guy does not belong on any line, he is a legit ahl player. 
 

317 games was for hope that he turns into the next cam Neely.    He reminded me of a Kyle wellwood is instead.

 

No matter how you say it, you're still wrong for calling a player a bust on day 1.

 

The fact that he's out of the league makes a lot of people feel like they can validate their preconceived bias now.

Edited September 25, 2021 by Dazzle

[sassbs]

4 hours ago, Dazzle said:

No matter how you say it, you're still wrong for calling a player a bust on day 1.

 

The fact that he's out of the league makes a lot of people feel like they can validate their preconceived bias now.

Ok my day 1 comment was off.   I saw the way he played.  He showed signs of brilliance but majority of the time it was laziness.  Lack of hustle.  That alone showed what type of player he would become and from that moment I knew he would be a bust.   It’s in his character.  Someone just entering the league would be a fireball wrecking everything in his path, giving 100% every time just to show the coaches he belongs. 
 

jake didn’t do any of that.   

[JeremyCuddles]

On 9/23/2021 at 8:24 PM, guntrix said:

Everything’s always so straight-forward when you cut out the context. 
 

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player given so many chances to succeed. If it weren’t for his draft position and the fact that Benning seemingly went all-in on the local golden boy gamble with his very first pick on the job, he would’ve already been forgotten ages ago. 

I dunno, he's a terrible guy if he did what they say he did. But I think he'd still be in the NHL if he weren't potentially a garbage human. He was given every chance to be a top 6 player, but his play very much was that of a serviceable bottom 6 player. If the allegations didn't happen, he'd still be in the league on another team. Potentially even ours. Either way, I think it's for the best we move on. Let him rot or learn his lesson in the KHL. We have better things to complain about. Like Poolman's contract for some reason.

[jatylo]

I really hope this year away will give Jake the wake-up call he needs. 

While I was on the Nylander/Ehlers wagon during the draft I tried to accept that Jake might be a less bone headed Torres that keeps players heads on a swivel. (can we have the laying out McDavid version of Jake?) . But every game I watched in the ahl/nhl he seemed so uninspired and invisible which frustrated me when people would say tovput him with the Sedins or he will show up in playoffs.

[rekker]

47 minutes ago, jatylo said:

I really hope this year away will give Jake the wake-up call he needs. 

While I was on the Nylander/Ehlers wagon during the draft I tried to accept that Jake might be a less bone headed Torres that keeps players heads on a swivel. (can we have the laying out McDavid version of Jake?) . But every game I watched in the ahl/nhl he seemed so uninspired and invisible which frustrated me when people would say tovput him with the Sedins or he will show up in playoffs.

Ya. I remember when he had some shifts with the twins. The pain in Hanks eyes were plain to see when he was on the bench. I swear I saw a cartoon cloud above Hanks head reading "get this clown off my line" 

[iinatcc]

9 hours ago, jatylo said:

I really hope this year away will give Jake the wake-up call he needs. 

While I was on the Nylander/Ehlers wagon during the draft I tried to accept that Jake might be a less bone headed Torres that keeps players heads on a swivel. (can we have the laying out McDavid version of Jake?) . But every game I watched in the ahl/nhl he seemed so uninspired and invisible which frustrated me when people would say tovput him with the Sedins or he will show up in playoffs.

Yeah it still boggles my mind that people here were convinced until this year that Virtanen was a better pick than Ehlers or Nylander because <insert reason that Hockey isn't just about scoring>

 

he wasn't the right pick this was apparent after the 2nd season 

[Gawdzukes]

On 9/23/2021 at 1:27 PM, sassbs said:

I don’t think that means anything. If he was on any other team he would’ve been dumped and stuck in the ahl. The only reason he last as long as he did was because van drafted him and didn’t want to show fans the pick was a bust!    Imo of course 

 

On 9/23/2021 at 1:31 PM, gurn said:

Busts don't get 317 games and 16 in the playoffs. 1st round pick be damned, J.B. traded McCaan- a first round pick- because he decided he wanted something else. No cares given about what it looked like.

 

Yeah, let's get real. Just another poor attempt by an ignorant hockey mind taking a stab at JB and co.

[Alflives]

15 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

 

Yeah, let's get real. Just another poor attempt by an ignorant hockey mind taking a stab at JB and co.

I’m watching Jake play his first game was in Russia right now.  He’s HUGE!  He can barely move.  KHL contracts aren’t guaranteed, so I wouldn’t be too surprised if Jake (and his round body) is sent packing.  He’s got to be near 300 pounds.