Oilers Top Prospect Lost on Waivers Off to Brutal Start With New Team

PUBLICATION

Liam McCormick
October 26, 2024 (9:59 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

The Edmonton Oilers went through a dramatic saga with Raphael Lavoie on waivers, and eventually lost their prospect to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Lavoie was a second round draft pick of the Oilers back in 2019, and went on to play 4 seasons with the Bakersfield Condors in the AHL. His last two seasons he had begun to show that he was an NHL level talent, scoring 53 goals in 134 games.

However, unlike plenty of other former Oilers this year, Lavoie's off to a tough start with 1 assist and a -6 rating in 4 games with the Vegas AHL team. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal recently pointed to Lavoie's struggles in Vegas' AHL system.

The Oilers losing Lavoie on waivers not once, but twice this season was extremely preventable. Knowing that he was eligible for waivers this offseason and that he was going to be blocked by the Oilers surplus of veteran wingers, plenty of insiders suggested that the Oilers trade Lavoie in the offseason to at least get an asset back for him. Instead they took an extremely risky gamble, and lost him for nothing on waivers to a division rival.

It's obviously just a tough start to the year for Lavoie, and he will likely be able to turn it around. But honestly for Oilers fans, after hearing that Broberg, Holloway, and McLeod are off to an incredible start, it's a little vindicating to hear at least one player not thriving for now. No one is wishing the worst on Lavoie who didn't leave on his own volition, but the Oilers losing him was just a clear mistake. We'll see how his career pans out this year and in the future.