The Oilers lost Raphael Lavoie on waivers to the Vegas Golden Knights earlier today, but they may get a chance to take him back.
Lavoie is a highly ranked offensive prospect for the Oilers, a second round draft pick of the team in 2019. Lavoie was claimed on waivers today by the Golden Knights along with forward Cole Schwindt, and now, they may place one of them back on waivers.
On OilersNow today, Bob Stauffer said the Golden Knights may be surprised that they got both players, and could waive one of them tomorrow. If Raphael Lavoie gets placed on waivers, perhaps the Oilers get a chance to take him back.
The Golden Knights will then have a tough choice to keep either Lavoie or Schwindt. Lavoie is a quality prospect that's had success in the AHL, but Schwindt is one year younger and has had similar success in the minor league. Schwindt last played on the Calgary Flames AHL team, scoring 14 goals and 36 points in 66 games.
It was a big mistake for the Oilers to get to this point and lose Raphael Lavoie for nothing on waivers. Lavoie proved in the AHL and this year's training camp that he's an NHL quality player - but he's more of an offensive talent than a checker. The Oilers have plenty of veteran wingers who were going to make the team ahead of him regardless, and knowing that he was waiver eligible, the Oilers could've traded him to at least get an asset back. If they can get lucky enough to get Lavoie back and dodge the mistake entirely, they should absolutely do so.
The preseason and training camp is now officially over, and the Oilers are preparing to drop the puck on their regular season on October 9th against the Winnipeg Jets. Hockey is finally, finally back!
