Raphael Lavoie Claimed Off Waivers... 4th Team Change This Week

This has been one wild week for young forward Raphael Lavoie. He's bounced up and down between the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights like a yo-yo. On Friday, the Golden Knights claimed him off waivers for the second time this week, after the Oilers placed him there for the second time in four days.

Raphael Lavoie’s wild waiver week continues

Oct. 6: Placed on waivers by Edmonton
Oct. 7: Claimed on waivers by Vegas
Oct. 8: Placed on waivers by Vegas
Oct. 9: Claimed on waivers by Edmonton
Oct. 10: Placed on waivers by Edmonton
Oct. 11: Claimed on waivers by Vegas
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 11, 2024

The Oilers first placed the depth forward on waivers on Sunday, and he was claimed by the Golden Knights on Monday. Vegas immediately placed him back on waivers on Tuesday, which was followed by Edmonton re-claiming him on Wednesday. They hoped to sneak him through waivers one more time on Thurday in order to send him to the AHL, but Vegas has stepped in again on Friday to re-claim him.

No other team put in a claim this time, so the Golden Knights will send him to Henderson of the AHL. That was their goal in the first place.

That's a lot of frequent flyer points for Lavoie.

According to PuckPedia, the Oilers now have $1.05M in Projected Cap Space. With no additional moves, they'd be able to add a $4.80M cap hit at the trade deadline.

Lavoie, a 24-year-old former second-round pick, hasn't been able to crack the Oilers lineup since being a second-round pick in 2019, as he's gotten into just seven NHL games (all last season).

Lavoie has had success at the AHL level though, scoring 28 goals last season in Bakersfield, with 50 points in 66 games, to go along with 64 penalty minutes for the 6'4", 215-pound forward.