(Edmonton) Jake Virtanen’s stay with the Edmonton Oilers came to an end when the team released the 26-year-old forward from his pro tryout.
Posted yesterday at 4:24 p.m.
Virtanen was hoping to make a comeback to the NHL. He collected an assist in six preparatory meetings. Virtanen is an unrestricted free agent again.
The Oilers gave Virtanen a tryout Sept. 19, two months after the British Columbian was found not guilty of sexual assault.
Virtanen had been charged in January in relation to an incident that allegedly took place at a Vancouver hotel in September 2017.
He was wearing the colors of the Vancouver Canucks when the allegations surfaced in May 2021. The team then placed him on leave, before buying out his contract a month later.
Virtanen made his NHL debut in 2015 with the Canucks but never lived up to expectations after being selected sixth overall in the 2014 draft.
He spent part of the 2021-22 season with HK Spartak Moscow of the Continental Hockey League. However, he fled Russia when war broke out in Ukraine.