Swiss team ready to ditch Jake Virtanen after fracas with teammate

Former Vancouver Canuck Jake Virtanen has been dumped by his Swiss club on the eve of the playoffs.

According to a report in Swiss newspaper Le Matin, Virtanen got into an altercation with a teammate on the bench near the end of a game last month and has been dismissed from the team.

Virtanen joined EHC Visp in the Swiss second division in November, looking to restart a playing career that was sidelined by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a court case for sexual assault.

Bought out by the Canucks in the summer of 2021, Virtanen signed with Moscow Spartak for the 2021-22 KHL season. But like many other non-Russian players, Virtanen bolted from the KHL after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February 2022.

Virtanen bided his time at home in Kelowna, then stood trial for sexual assault last summer. He was found not guilty by a jury and turned back toward resuming his hockey career.