Sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

That’s what Raphael Lavoie has been experiencing since joining the Vegas Golden Knights organization.

They and the Oilers had a week-long tug-of-war with Lavoie on the waiver wire that saw him waived and claimed for six straight days between October 7th and 11th, ending with him being assigned to the Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate of the same name in Henderson.

He missed the first two games of their season, and has now drawn in for 11 games this season. Lavoie, however, has struggled mightily, scoring just one goal and an assist, with a -9 plus-minus rating. All this has come with him consistently playing on the second and third lines.

Henderson’s last three games have seen Lavoie out of the Silver Knights’ lineup, but there’s no indication as to whether he’s dealing with injury, or if he’s been healthy scratched. His last game came on November 16th against the Tuscon Roadrunners, and he finished the night with two shots on goal. More notably, however, was the fact that with seven and a half minutes left in a 1-1 game, Lavoie took a hooking penalty at the same time teammate Calen Addison took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Just 16 seconds into the Roadrunners’ power play, Kailer Yamamoto scored what would be the game-winning goal.

It was four days before the Silver Knights played again, hosting the Ontario Reign, before a back-to-back last Friday and Saturday against the Abbotsford Canucks and Lavoie didn’t play in any of the games. Henderson is set for a brief three-game road trip, visiting the Colorado Eagles this weekend for back-to-backs on Friday and Saturday, before visiting the Coachella Valley Firebirds next Tuesday night.

The Silver Knights have found themselves dead last in the AHL’s Western Conference this season with a 4-12-9 record with a measly .250 points percentage. Their offence has been anemic, scoring just 43 goals while allowing 64 against, both among the worst rates in the league, while both special team units rank near the bottom of the league, too. Lavoie’s struggles may have been a part of much bigger issues in Henderson.

Drafted by the Oilers in the second round of the 2019 draft, Lavoie appeared in 202 AHL games with the Bakersfield Condors, Edmonton’s affiliate, scoring 71 goals and 131 points in 202 games, with 53 goals and 95 points coming in 127 games over his last two seasons there. He earned his first recall to the NHL last season, appearing in seven NHL games without registering a point.

He was Oilersnation’s fourth-ranked prospect this summer, trailing Roby Jarventie, Sam O’Reilly and Matthew Savoie.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist, making up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.