Jake Virtanen’s breakout as one of the Canucks’ leading secondary scorers has been one of the most exciting storylines in Vancouver.



It’s easy to understand why so many are pulling for him. The market has been incredibly patient through Virtanen’s development, watching as high-end players drafted shortly after like Nikolaj Ehlers and William Nylander found immediate success. Seeing the local Abbotsford native put it all together at 23-years-old would be a sweet reward for years of patience and heated discourse.



Notching 12 goals and 24 points through just 42 games, Virtanen appears on track to chart that path — set to shatter previous career-highs en route a 23-goal, 47-point pace. The question that this explosion begs, however, is whether this is simply a hot streak — the type Vancouver should try taking advantage of to sell high, or if Virtanen is actually finding his game for good.



The stakes in answering this question...