Minnesota isn’t taking JJ.

Simon is so much better than Virtanen

I'm not sure how you get to that.
Virtanen put in 15 goals last year in roughly the same amount of games as Simon put in 8.

They are different kind of players for sure. I would love to put Virtanen on the bottom 6. He fits there much better than Simon does. But I don't think VAN takes that trade.
His 154 hits would be nice to add to the team. Bring that physical presence.

Simon was actually better offensively last year (1.775 p/60) vs Virtanen's 1.44 p/60, Simon also had a WAY better corsi and Fenwick (though I don't put a ton of weight into those stats) Simon also had THE SECOND BEST xGA LEAGUE WIDE last year, and he drove play and such MUCH better than Virtanen....

Virtanen plays a different role though. Simon had the luxury playing on Sid's wing. You take his time off that line, and it's not all that great.
http://naturalstattrick.com/linestats.php?fromseason=20182019&thruseason=20182019&stype=2&sit=all&score=all&rate=n&team=PIT&vteam=ALL&view=wowy&loc=B&gpfilt=none&fd=2018-10-03&td=2019-04-06&tgp=2000&strict=incl&p1=8478866&p2=8471675&p3=0&p4=0&p5=0

http://naturalstattrick.com/linestats.php?fromseason=20182019&thruseason=20182019&stype=2&sit=5v5&score=all&rate=n&team=PIT&vteam=ALL&view=wowy&loc=B&gpfilt=none&fd=2018-10-03&td=2019-04-06&tgp=2000&strict=incl&p1=8478866&p2=8471675&p3=0&p4=0&p5=0


The numbers clearly take a dive. So it's easy to cherry pick the numbers here.

You are looking at two players here who would be bottom 6 players and asking which one can produce.
Virtanen is that kind of player, scores goals, finishes, goes to the dirty areas and hits people.
Simon doesn't really do any of that. He's a guy that really would like to play a skill game, fit in the top 6. But he lacks the elite speed and skill to really be there. Which is why he couldn't stick.

Simon was also the best option to play RW with Crosby and Guentzel on the team out of everyone that played that position and had a 6.6 SH%.

https://thesportsdaily.com/2019/04/15/who-makes-sense-to-play-on-sidney-crosbys-right-wing-p1b1/

But that doesn't say who that is on.
Fact is Sid has carried all kinds of wingers. Simon is another example of that.
It's not Simon who improved Sid. If you think that you are kidding yourself.
I showed you the real data. Away from Sid his play is simply not that good.
When he isn't on Sid or Malkins wing it's average at best.
It is what it is. You can't hid those numbers or discard them into cherry picked data.
So when you are trying to compare these guys you don't get to cherry pick the numbers. He gets huge boosts from where he plays compared to the other player.
But you will notice Simon did not play that many minutes next to Sid, about 1/2 as much time as he spent playing away from him. Which should tell you about how he doesn't fit in. Because if he did, he wouldn't have been moved. Much like Jake was never moved.
But he has no offensive upside. He can't score. Which explains his 6.6%SH%
It's not just bad luck, he doesn't have the skill.
Virtanen,is a legitimately better player. Especially to fill a bottom 6 role. Which is where both these players belong.