The Canucks have placed winger Jake Virtanen on a leave of absence following allegations of sexual misconduct. The team released the following statement:
We have become aware of the concerning allegations made about Jake Virtanen. Our organization does not accept sexual misconduct of any kind and the claims as reported are being treated very seriously by us. We have engaged external expertise to assist in an independent investigation and we have placed the player on leave as we await more information.
Glacier Media provides some background about the alleged incident which occurred back in September of 2017. Virtanen has declined to comment while NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly indicated that the league is aware of the allegations but wouldn’t comment further than that.
We are aware of this issue and have been in contact with the club regarding appropriate response. We don’t have any further comment at this time.