Swiss team looking to move on from former top Canucks prospect Jake Virtanen after altercation with teammate

Looks like Jake Virtanen could be on the move again.

According to a report in Swiss newspaper Le Matin, the former NHL forward recently got into an altercation with a EHC Visp teammate on the bench during a second-tier Swiss league.

Virtanen has been scratched for Visp’s last two games, and now Le Matin has reported that he’s been made available for trade. According to the report, teammate Daniel Eigenmann went to management on behalf of his teammates and said, “It’s him or us.”

In a translation, one player said, “For him, the (name on the) back of the jersey has more value than the front of the jersey.”

Visp has not released a statement as of yet but did confirm to Le Matin that Virtanen is indeed available heading into the Swiss League playoffs later this month.

Virtanen joined Visp in the fall and has 14 goals and 25 points, but Le Matin reports that tensions with teammates and a “selfish” attitude have led to him being on the trade block. Virtanen started the season on a tryout contract with the Edmonton Oilers but was released without a deal and instead went back over to Europe. Once considered a top prospect for the Vancouver Canucks, he never really materialized, scoring 100 points in 317 games over six years.

He was eventually bought out by the Canucks in 2020-21 after a court case for sexual assault came to light. A British Columbia jury found Virtanen not guilty of sexual assault over the summer.

Virtanen spent last season with Spartak Moskva in the KHL, putting up just nine points and 16 points in 36 games. He, like many other North Americans, left the league following the Russian invasion on Ukraine and looked to get another shot at the NHL, which ultimately didn’t pan out.

EHC Visp finished the regular season in fourth with a 21-18-3-3 record.