It seems Raphael Lavoie‘s time with the Vegas Golden Knights has come to an end.
The Edmonton Oilers placed Lavoie on waivers on Sunday and the big winger was one of two players claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday. The other was versatile forward Cole Schwindt from the Calgary Flames.
On Tuesday, Elliotte Friedman reported that four players had been placed on waivers: Chris Driedger, MacKenzie Entwistle, Mark Friedman, and Lavoie. The Golden Knights had one roster spot open with two players available and they chose Schwindt.
Selected in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft, Lavoie has produced in the American Hockey League but hasn’t been given much of an opportunity with the big-league club. He scored 25 goals in 61 games with the Bakersfield Condors in 2022-23 and 28 goals in 66 games in the AHL in 2023-24.
Lavoie came into training camp in back-to-back years batting for a depth forward spot in Edmonton and the Oilers decided to place him on waivers both times in favour of veteran players. After clearing through waivers last fall, Lavoie came up and played seven games with the Oilers and was held off the scoresheet while averaging 7:17 of ice time per night.
There’s no doubt that Lavoie has the skill to be a successful NHL winger, as the 24-year-old boasts size, solid skating ability, and a very strong and accurate shot. The issue is that he’s stuck behind older players on Edmonton’s depth chart and the team hasn’t had the salary cap flexibility to carry multiple extra forwards.
Would the Oilers be interested in bringing back their former prospect? Edmonton decided to start the season with Corey Perry as the team’s fourth-line right winger but they would be able to send Lavoie down to the AHL without waivers if they claim him back from the Golden Knights and no other team submits a claim.
Edit: Teams don’t have the right of first refusal on players they previously lost on waivers. As noted by Puck Pedia, waiver priority is in reverse order of last season’s standings.
Update: According to Derek Van Diest, it looks like Lavoie will be an Oiler again…

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