Report: Edmonton Oilers “still waiting” on pro tryout answer from Jake Virtanen

The Edmonton Oilers are reportedly still waiting to hear from Jake Virtanen’s camp on a professional tryout, TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reported Monday.

“My sense is the Oilers are waiting on an answer from Virtanen about a PTO offer,” Rishaug tweeted. “Several other teams are in the mix as well.”

In all honesty, bringing in Virtanen makes absolutely zero sense. From an on-ice perspective, he has nothing to offer the Oilers. He’s never been a strong driver of play and offers little offensively.

In the 2020-21 campaign, he scored just five goals and as many points in 38 games. According to Natural Stat Trick, his underlying numbers — shot attempt share, goal share, and expected goal share — have sat below 50 percent throughout his career.

According to hockeyviz.com, Virtanen has provided negligible amounts of offence and defence over the course of his career and he has never had an impact on the powerplay, where he’s played little throughout his career.

Virtanen was also placed on leave and later bought out by the Vancouver Canucks, who drafted him sixth overall in the 2014 draft, after sexual assault allegations arose. He was found not guilty of one count of sexual assault by a jury in July of this year.

Bringing in Virtanen wouldn’t make sense on the ice, and it doesn’t make sense off the ice, either.