Another NHL Team Seems to Claim Raphael Lavoie Just to Mess With Oilers

The Golden Knights had to waive Lavoie after they acquired him, and the Oilers were lucky enough to get him back. However, another NHL team ahead of the Oilers in the standings placed a claim on Lavoie, which invoked a rule that he could not be sent to the Oilers AHL team. Edmonton had to waive him again, finally losing Lavoie for good to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Many fans have been questioning why the other team ahead of the Oilers may have placed the claim on Lavoie - and if the reasoning was solely to hurt the Oilers. It was public information that Edmonton would claim Lavoie again, so the other team knew that they wouldn't actually get the prospect, and it would only prevent the Oilers from keeping him. Some fans are theorizing that another GM did this just to spite a cup contending team like the Oilers, or because of controversial General Manager Stan Bowman.

One fan even suggested that Vegas General Manager Kelly McCrimmon could have called another team for a favour, to place a claim on Lavoie and prevent the Oilers from keeping him. Given that the other team has nothing to risk, they might do so to gain a favour from another General Manager. Add in the fact that the Oilers were the only victim of an offer sheet in the NHL in years, and there's some precedent of teams apparently wanting to knock down the Oilers.

According to the 2 Mutts Hockey Podcast, the other team that placed a claim on Lavoie was the Colorado Avalanche. It does make sense that they could use a young offensive player like Lavoie, but again, they would have known that Edmonton would claim him back. The 2 Mutts Podcast poured cold water on any ideas of another team simply messing with the Oilers, but as of now it doesn't look that way.

Lavoie is now 24 years old, drafted by Edmonton in 2019, and was ranked as a top ten prospect within the Oilers system. He had scored over 50 goals in his last two AHL seasons, and is touted by scouts for his shot and offensive ability.

In the end, it was a mistake on the Oilers end to let Lavoie get to the point of being lost for nothing. Knowing that he was blocked by so many veteran wingers, trading Lavoie before the season was a better option than losing him on waivers. There's also the argument that the Oilers need goal scoring in the bottom six, and that Lavoie should've been given a chance. Either idea was better than the final outcome, losing a fully developed prospect to a division rival for nothing in return.