The Oilers And Golden Knights Are Playing Waivers Hot Potato With Raphael Lavoie
As is the norm early in NHL season, we're seeing a ton of roster movement with players — including history-making Ivan Ivan of the Colorado Avalanche — being sent down to the minors.
However, we don't usually see anything like what the Vegas Golden Knights and the Edmonton Oilers have been doing with center Rafael Lavoie.
The 24-year-old has spent the bulk of the last four seasons playing for the Oilers' AHL affiliate, Bakersfield Condors. He appeared in seven games for the reigning Western Conference champs last season, and over the summer they decided to sign him to a one-year deal worth $755,000; just $5,000 above the league minimum.
However, on October 6, the Oilers placed Lavoie on waivers so that they could assign him back to Bakersfield.
Of course, other teams get a crack at Lavoie, and before he cleared waivers he was snapped up by the Oilers Pacific Division rivals, the Vegas Golden Knights, on October 7.
However, Vegas didn't necessarily want Lavoie for their NHL roster. Instead, on October 8, they did exactly what Edmonton did and placed him on waivers to send him down to the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights.
But Edmonton must have really wanted Lavoie on their books, because on October 9, they claimed him back off of waivers.
It has to be awesome to have a couple of NHL teams fighting over you like this, but this poor dude probably just wants to know if he needs to get an apartment in Bakersfield or Henderson.
Unfortunately for Lavoie, it wasn't over yet. On October 10, Edmonton put him on waivers again, in a bid to send him to Bakersfield.
So, take a guess what happened on October 11?
If you said, "Vegas claimed Lavoie off of waivers," congratulations on recognizing patterns. That's precisely what happened.
Now, take a look at Raphael Lavoie's last six days:
Both of these teams really want Raphael Lavoie… on their AHL squads.
We'll see what happens, but I'm getting the sense that Vegas will waive Lavoie on October 12.