Jani Virtanen (born March 1, 1977, in Tampere, Finland) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenceman.
Virtanen then divided the next two season with SaiPa and Espoo Blues as well as a stint in Sweden's Elitserien with Färjestads BK.
In 2003, he moved to North America and signed with the Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL where he scored a career high 10 assists.
He then moved to Italy's Serie A with SG Brunico as well as a two-game stint with Scorpions de Mulhouse in France's Ligue Magnus before returning to Scandinavia and to Sweden in 2005, this time with the Malmö Redhawks of the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan.
After 17 games, he departed and moved to Denmark to sign for EfB Ishockey in the Metal Ligaen Virtanen then had spells with SV Kaltern in Italy's Serie B, the Hull Stingrays of the Elite Ice Hockey League in the United Kingdom and a return to Ligue Magnus with Bisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne before retiring in 2009.