Player Discussion Jake Virtanen, Pt. XXI

[PuckMunchkin]

What you’re saying is true and I fully agree, but for me jake can “drive offense”in a way that he carries the puck from our zone to the offensive zone and get a offensive zone face off for the guys on the next shift. This kind of contribution aren’t gonna show up on the sheets.
He can be a pretty useful player with his speed and size and I like how he trained with pavel barber this offseason, his stick handling has improved quite a bit(it’s still average for an nhler), and his two way play has improved as well. It’s a matter of expectations really, if you’re expecting him to “turn his game around” and become the ultimate top 6 power forward you’re gonna be very disappointed. (I apologise if my grammar is messed up, English ain’t my first language)
cheers buddy

There are people tracking zone entries, and Jake is among the elite of the league in controlled zone entries. Issue is his stats after skating the puck in show he is pretty much the same player as he has always been.

And what you are saying is what I've been saying for better part of a year now. We should stop expecting him to "turn a corner" offensively. He is a useful piece of a teams bottom 6 and very fun to watch when on his game.

 

[Shareefruck]

Sutter has slowed down Virtanen considerably since returning. Sutter is a chipy defensive forward that creates a lot of whistles and broken plays, whereas Virtanen thrives when the game is flowing, uptempo, and has good pace. Jake’s aggressive, lighting fast, hits hard, and has a great shot. He should end up being a consistent 20 goal scorer that plays the right way; hard fast & heavy, the type of player teams hate to play against. He’s not going to be the 30+ goal scorer that fans were hoping for, but is still a very effective player. Sutter needs to go, he doesn’t fit the style of play the Canucks are aiming for.

The frustrating thing about this is that both Gaudette and Gaunce are perfect fits for Virtanen, IMO.

 

[Canuckle1970]

Now that we have our "defensive centers" back (Sutter & Beagle) could we please, for the rest of the season, play the top 6 lines as follows:

Boeser Petey Leivo
Baertchi Horvat Virtanen

That 2nd line once had a terrific multi-point night long ago. Please try it again for at least a month. Please.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

Now that we have our "defensive centers" back (Sutter & Beagle) could we please, for the rest of the season, play the top 6 lines as follows:

Boeser Petey Leivo
Baertchi Horvat Virtanen

That 2nd line once had a terrific multi-point night long ago. Please try it again for at least a month. Please.

For me:
Boeser - Petey - Goldobin
Baertchi - Horvat - Leivo

 

[Canuckle1970]

For me:
Boeser - Petey - Goldobin
Baertchi - Horvat - Leivo

I can appreciate what you'd like to see, but do you think Goldy is in their long term plans? I think he'll be traded.

 

[I am toxic]

I can appreciate what you'd like to see, but do you think Goldy is in their long term plans? I think he'll be traded.

Doesn't "traded" mean you get something back?

 

[Canuckle1970]

Doesn't "traded" mean you get something back?

Yup.

 

[PuckMunchkin]

I can appreciate what you'd like to see, but do you think Goldy is in their long term plans? I think he'll be traded.

No, suppose I dont.

But that is what I want them to do. Even if it is just to pump up Goldys value if they are hell bent on tossing him.

 

[Canuckle1970]

No, suppose I dont.

But that is what I want them to do. Even if it is just to pump up Goldys value if they are hell bent on tossing him.

Sorry about that. And, of course, my opinion may be wrong.

 

[I am toxic]

Yup.

Why would anyone give up assets for a player that the coach is repeatedly healthy scratching?

Ohhh, I get it - you are saying there are other really bad GM's out there. You sly dog.

 

[Canuckle1970]

Why would anyone give up assets for a player that the coach is repeatedly healthy scratching?

Ohhh, I get it - you are saying there are other really bad GM's out there. You sly dog.

You give me too much credit.

 

[sting101]

Needs to get more assertive in the 2nd half and start to have an impact.

I think they rattled his cage with a pending scratch that never happened.....hopefully him and Sutter start playing some good hockey because the last 6 weeks have been largely donuts from these 2 and i know Sutter has only been back for 3 of those but he makes a lot of dough.

 

[Cupless44]

Needs to get more assertive in the 2nd half and start to have an impact.

I think they rattled his cage with a pending scratch that never happened.....hopefully him and Sutter start playing some good hockey because the last 6 weeks have been largely donuts from these 2 and i know Sutter has only been back for 3 of those but he makes a lot of dough.

Pretty tough for Virtanen to shine offensively with a center who got his only assist of the season on opening day. Couldn't be a worse fit.

If they ever want to see what this player can be you give him an extended run with Horvat and Baertschi and dont pull him off the line after 2 periods.

 

[timbermen]

That draft actually worked out in the Canucks favour, Ehlers and Nylander may be more skilled offensive players but they're not putting up great numbers this year while playing on offensive juggernauts. Ehlers has 27 points and Nylander has 1 goal in 20 games. Both are on Loui Ericksson-esque contracts for the next 7 years. While Ehlers is slightly better than Nylander, Nylander is over rated. Virtanen is on a two year contract at 1.25 million giving him WAAAY more trade value than those one dimensional players that will fade 3 years into their contract. They both haven't been as good after signing those behemoth contracts, They're fading already. Virtanen would literally net more in trade, though i wouldn't trade him unless the offer was too good to refuse. Next season, Ehlers and Nylander will be floating around enjoying year 2 of the 7 year contracts and Virtanen will be playing for a contract on a more offensively talented team than this years.I wouldn't trade Virtanen for Ehlers, Nylander + picks with those atrocious contracts.

 

[timbermen]

Pretty tough for Virtanen to shine offensively with a center who got his only assist of the season on opening day. Couldn't be a worse fit.

If they ever want to see what this player can be you give him an extended run with Horvat and Baertschi and dont pull him off the line after 2 periods.

I agree that he should be playing with Horvat, they had chemistry before. Everyone from Shaller to Granlund was given power play time ahead of him. I don't get that.

 

[Canucker]

That draft actually worked out in the Canucks favour, Ehlers and Nylander may be more skilled offensive players but they're not putting up great numbers this year while playing on offensive juggernauts. Ehlers has 27 points and Nylander has 1 goal in 20 games. Both are on Loui Ericksson-esque contracts for the next 7 years. While Ehlers is slightly better than Nylander, Nylander is over rated. Virtanen is on a two year contract at 1.25 million giving him WAAAY more trade value than those one dimensional players that will fade 3 years into their contract. They both haven't been as good after signing those behemoth contracts, They're fading already. Virtanen would literally net more in trade, though i wouldn't trade him unless the offer was too good to refuse. Next season, Ehlers and Nylander will be floating around enjoying year 2 of the 7 year contracts and Virtanen will be playing for a contract on a more offensively talented team than this years.I wouldn't trade Virtanen for Ehlers, Nylander + picks with those atrocious contracts.

I would...in a heartbeat, especially for Nylander. Virtanen is what he is and I don't think there is much more to see with him. Trade him now while you might still be able to fool some GM into thinking he's a power forward.

 

[timw33]

That draft actually worked out in the Canucks favour, Ehlers and Nylander may be more skilled offensive players but they're not putting up great numbers this year while playing on offensive juggernauts. Ehlers has 27 points and Nylander has 1 goal in 20 games. Both are on Loui Ericksson-esque contracts for the next 7 years. While Ehlers is slightly better than Nylander, Nylander is over rated. Virtanen is on a two year contract at 1.25 million giving him WAAAY more trade value than those one dimensional players that will fade 3 years into their contract. They both haven't been as good after signing those behemoth contracts, They're fading already. Virtanen would literally net more in trade, though i wouldn't trade him unless the offer was too good to refuse. Next season, Ehlers and Nylander will be floating around enjoying year 2 of the 7 year contracts and Virtanen will be playing for a contract on a more offensively talented team than this years.I wouldn't trade Virtanen for Ehlers, Nylander + picks with those atrocious contracts.

This is absolutely laughable.

 

[Svencouver]

I don't expect Ehlers and Nylander to play this poorly for that much longer. Granted, Nylander hasn't really proven that he can produce without Matthews, and I'm not really sure what's going on with Ehlers, but using their performance-justified contracts as evidence as to why we came out ahead is nonsense

IMO it's still too soon to judge that draft as a whole, but all things considered I don't think we did too poorly. It's such a strange draft year with Dal Colle, Virtanen, Bennett, Fleury, and even really Reinhardt and Ekblad performing under expectations.

 

[Hollywood Burrows]

That draft actually worked out in the Canucks favour, Ehlers and Nylander may be more skilled offensive players but they're not putting up great numbers this year while playing on offensive juggernauts. Ehlers has 27 points and Nylander has 1 goal in 20 games. Both are on Loui Ericksson-esque contracts for the next 7 years. While Ehlers is slightly better than Nylander, Nylander is over rated. Virtanen is on a two year contract at 1.25 million giving him WAAAY more trade value than those one dimensional players that will fade 3 years into their contract. They both haven't been as good after signing those behemoth contracts, They're fading already. Virtanen would literally net more in trade, though i wouldn't trade him unless the offer was too good to refuse. Next season, Ehlers and Nylander will be floating around enjoying year 2 of the 7 year contracts and Virtanen will be playing for a contract on a more offensively talented team than this years.I wouldn't trade Virtanen for Ehlers, Nylander + picks with those atrocious contracts.

jesus christ man

leaf and jets fans pls ignore this

 

[Michael Dal Swolle]

Gudbranson: 27 years old, career high of 13 points = still learning, tons of room for improvement!

Ehlers, Nylander: 22 years old, half a season of underperforming = past their prime, dead weight contracts.

Ok.

 

[Jevo]

I don't expect Ehlers and Nylander to play this poorly for that much longer. Granted, Nylander hasn't really proven that he can produce without Matthews, and I'm not really sure what's going on with Ehlers, but using their performance-justified contracts as evidence as to why we came out ahead is nonsense

IMO it's still too soon to judge that draft as a whole, but all things considered I don't think we did too poorly. It's such a strange draft year with Dal Colle, Virtanen, Bennett, Fleury, and even really Reinhardt and Ekblad performing under expectations.

Ehlers isn't even playing that poorly any longer. He had a slow start with 4 points in 13 games. But after that he scored 23 in 27 games before getting injured. The guy was doing more than fine.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

That draft actually worked out in the Canucks favour, Ehlers and Nylander may be more skilled offensive players but they're not putting up great numbers this year while playing on offensive juggernauts. Ehlers has 27 points and Nylander has 1 goal in 20 games. Both are on Loui Ericksson-esque contracts for the next 7 years. While Ehlers is slightly better than Nylander, Nylander is over rated. Virtanen is on a two year contract at 1.25 million giving him WAAAY more trade value than those one dimensional players that will fade 3 years into their contract. They both haven't been as good after signing those behemoth contracts, They're fading already. Virtanen would literally net more in trade, though i wouldn't trade him unless the offer was too good to refuse. Next season, Ehlers and Nylander will be floating around enjoying year 2 of the 7 year contracts and Virtanen will be playing for a contract on a more offensively talented team than this years.I wouldn't trade Virtanen for Ehlers, Nylander + picks with those atrocious contracts.

You should really do standup.

 

[Dab]

Pretty tough for Virtanen to shine offensively with a center who got his only assist of the season on opening day. Couldn't be a worse fit.

If they ever want to see what this player can be you give him an extended run with Horvat and Baertschi and dont pull him off the line after 2 periods.

This coupled with his zone entry starts leads me to think Jake needs a confident player to defer to in the offensive zone who can then get the puck back to him down low or for a quick shot. That player is not Brandon Sutter.

 

[Egghead1999]

I would...in a heartbeat, especially for Nylander. Virtanen is what he is and I don't think there is much more to see with him. Trade him now while you might still be able to fool some GM into thinking he's a power forward.

Nylander is only 5x5 (real money) after this season; that contract is very move-able

 

[Brockon]

Nylander is only 5x5 (real money) after this season; that contract is very move-able

No, he isn't... The screenshot below breaks down his contract as per capfriendly, there isn't a single portion of it paying 5 million from start to finish. I'm curious where you'd heard he was 5x5 in actual salary.

Willy's best trade value comes anytime in years 3-6 after July 1st, after his salary bonus of 3.5 mil is paid and his salary owed is 2.5 mil on the year. Meaning he'd be owed 20.5 million for the next 4 seasons as of July 2nd 2020. That's absolutely moveable if Nylander returns to his 60 point form next year. It's going to be horrible value if he doesn't post 40 or more points next year and then the contract takes on perceived negative value.