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Raphael Lavoie

Edmonton Oilers Place Four Players On Waivers

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The defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers are placing four players on waivers as they put the finishing touches on their 2024-25 opening night roster. The organization announced it had placed forwards Drake Caggiula and Raphael Lavoie, defenseman Josh Brown, and goaltender Olivier Rodrigue on waivers.

Caggiula and Brown are depth players with an outside chance of making the roster in specific roles. Neither player was expected to play meaningful minutes for the Oilers this season but will now start the season with their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, assuming both clear waivers tomorrow.

The demotion of Brown will give Edmonton some cap relief, as well. The organization signed Brown to a three-year, $3MM contract on the opening day of free agency this past summer and the Oilers can now entirely remove that cap hit since his salary falls below the $1.25MM threshold.

Placing Lavoie on waivers to start the season may be a bold call by Edmonton’s brass. The team drafted Lavoie with the 38th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft and he’s coming off back-to-back quality campaigns with the Condors. He’s proven to be a quality scorer at the AHL level with 53 goals and 95 points in 127 games since the start of the 2022-23 AHL season.

Lavoie appeared to be an NHL-caliber scorer the Oilers could plug into their bottom-six to start the year and there’s a legitimate chance he’ll be on another team’s roster by tomorrow afternoon. If not, he will start the year in Bakersfield and should serve as an immediate call-up should the Oilers find themselves in injury trouble early.

Rodrigue struggled early upon his start with the Condors during the 2020-21 AHL season but has grown his prospect quality since. He finished last season with a 19-12-5 record in Bakersfield with a .916 SV% and 2.73 GAA. His demotion is mostly circumstantial as Edmonton doesn’t have the financial flexibility to carry three netminders during the season. Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard will start the year as the team’s tandem.

Evening Notes: Lavoie, Carlsson, Lindgren

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Edmonton Oilers forward Raphael Lavoie will miss the next few days with an apparent lower-body injury (as per Daniel Nugent-Bowman from The Athletic) Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch told the media that the 23-year-old will likely get back on the ice Friday and will miss tomorrow night’s game against Winnipeg.  Lavoie has played well in preseason scoring a goal on Sunday night against the Jets.

Lavoie was a bit of a long shot to make the Oilers out of training camp as the team is pretty set at forward in the top nine, and his style of play isn’t what most teams would prefer on a fourth line. Lavoie’s pace has always been the thing that kept him out of the NHL, and it remains to be seen if this will be the year he finally breaks through.

In other evening notes:

  • Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now is reporting that San Jose Sharks defenseman Lucas Carlsson could be ready for the club’s AHL training camp. Carlsson hasn’t dressed for the Sharks NHL training camp after offseason surgery to repair a lower-body injury. He spent all of last season in the AHL with the Charlotte Checkers, registering 15 goals and 24 assists in 52 games and hasn’t seen NHL action since November 1st, 2022. Given the fact that Carlsson hasn’t dressed in an NHL game in nearly two years and that he will miss NHL training camp, it seems like a foregone conclusion that he will start the year with the Barracuda.
  • New York Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren left tonight’s preseason game with an apparent upper-body injury (as per Remy Mastey of The Hockey News). Lindgren fought New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield in the first period after Mayfield hit Filip Chytil with an open-ice knee-on-knee hit. The fight may or may not have been when the injury occurred, and no update has been provided on Lindgren’s status going forward. Fortunately, Chytil was able to continue in the game, but Lindgren did not return.

Oilers Re-Sign Raphael Lavoie To Two-Way Deal

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12:36 PM: Lavoie will earn a salary of $225K while on assignment to Bakersfield next season, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal reports. That’s a significant raise from the $70K AHL salary he earned last year after signing his qualifying offer.

10:21 AM: The Oilers announced that RFA center Raphael Lavoie is back with the team next season on a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K. His AHL salary wasn’t disclosed.

Lavoie made his NHL debut last season, appearing in seven games for Edmonton and posting a -2 rating with four shots on goal while averaging 7:17 per game. It was an important step for Lavoie, who’s been in the Oilers’ system since being drafted in the second round in 2019. Some expected him to make the opening night roster last fall to avoid hitting waivers for the first time in his career, but he passed through unclaimed in October en route to spending most of the season on assignment to AHL Bakersfield.

That’s where the 23-year-old has spent nearly all of his time since turning pro in 2020. The 6’4″, 216-lb forward has some appealing minor league numbers, and he’s coming off a career-high 28 goals and 50 points in 66 games with Bakersfield last year. He’s got some snarl to his game and likely still has NHL upside – it just hasn’t come fast enough for Edmonton to make him a regular before his waiver exemption expired.

The Quebec native, who plays both center and right wing, faces a crowded Oilers forward group next season with 12 players already signed to one-way deals. That doesn’t include RFA Dylan Holloway, who’s a virtual lock to make the team. But after their free agent spending spree, they sit $350K over the cap, per CapFriendly, and will likely move out a contract to accommodate a new deal for Holloway. That could open up room for Lavoie to make the NHL roster, something the Oilers would likely prefer due to his league minimum cap hit.

Lavoie was eligible for salary arbitration this summer but didn’t elect for it last Friday, signaling an agreement was likely close.

Oilers Recall Eight Players

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May 6: Forward Xavier Bourgault has also been added to the Oilers’ playoff roster, the team said Monday. Bourgault, 21, was the 22nd overall pick of the 2021 draft. He’s yet to make his NHL debut and struggled in his sophomore season with Bakersfield, limited to eight goals and 20 points in 55 games. He has one year remaining on his entry-level contract

May 4: After bringing up goaltender Jack Campbell and defenseman Philip Broberg earlier, the Oilers have finalized the rest of their ‘Black Ace’ recalls.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forwards Adam Erne, Raphael Lavoie, and Lane Pederson, defensemen Philip Kemp, Cam Dineen, and Ben Gleason, and goaltender Olivier Rodrigue from AHL Bakersfield.

Among the forwards, Erne played the most with Edmonton this season, getting into 24 games but was limited to just two points and less than eight minutes a night of ice time but did average nearly three hits per game.  The 29-year-old didn’t light it up with the Condors either, recording six goals and six helpers in 36 minor league appearances.  However, if the Oilers decide they want some extra physicality on the fourth line here and there, the pending UFA could get into the lineup.

Lavoie cleared waivers at the end of training camp but that didn’t deter him.  Instead, the 23-year-old had his best AHL campaign, notching 28 goals and 22 assists in 68 games while also making his first seven NHL appearances.  That should have him in the mix for a roster spot with Edmonton against next season although it would be surprising to see him get into the lineup now.

Pederson, meanwhile, failed to make an NHL appearance for the first time since 2019-20.  He did, however, have a strong year with Bakersfield, collecting 22 goals and 30 helpers in 66 contests.  He’s under contract for one more year at the league minimum on a one-way deal.

As for the blueliners, only Kemp saw NHL action this season, making his first (and only) appearance at the top level.  The 25-year-old played in 64 games with the Condors this year, recording a pair of goals and 13 assists.  He’s signed through next season on a two-way contract.

Dineen has the most NHL experience among the blueliners brought up today, having gotten into 34 games with Arizona back in 2021-22.  He had his first full year in Bakersfield this season after being acquired last year, picking up five goals and 20 assists in 58 games.  The 25-year-old will be eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency for the second straight year this summer.

Gleason’s last taste of NHL action came back in 2018-19 in his first professional season back when he was with Dallas.  Since then, the 26-year-old has been one of the more consistent offensive producers from the back end in the AHL and this year was no exception as he put up 10 goals and 22 assists in 62 appearances.  His contract converts to a one-way agreement next season for the league minimum.

Rodrigue was expected to split time with Calvin Pickard this season with Bakersfield but those plans changed with Campbell struggling and Pickard taking over as the backup in Edmonton.  Still, the 23-year-old posted a 2.73 GAA with a .916 SV% in 37 games with the Condors this season, earning himself a one-year extension along the way.

Most, if not all of these players won’t see any action during the rest of Edmonton’s postseason action but will be staying ready in case injuries warrant them suiting up.

Trade Deadline Primer: Edmonton Oilers

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With the All-Star break in the rear-view, the trade deadline looms large and is now less than a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Edmonton Oilers.

For the second consecutive season, the Oilers started slowly. The team started so poorly this season that it resulted in the firing of head coach Jay Woodcroft after just 13 games. Since their 3-9-1 start to the season, Edmonton has rebounded under Kris Knoblauch with a 27-7 record that includes a near-record 16-game winning streak. The Oilers now once again look like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender and will no doubt be looking to add to their lineup at the trade deadline. The club has already been linked to Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel and will surely be in on some of the other big names in the upcoming weeks. The Oilers don’t have much in the way of cap space and will need to get creative to fill in some of the remaining holes on their roster. But with the uncertainty around the futures of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, they are likely to do everything they can to add to an already formidable lineup.

Record

30-16-1, 3rd in the Pacific

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

 $2.374MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2024: EDM 1st, EDM 2nd, EDM 5th, EDM 6th, NASH 6th
2025: EDM 1st, EDM 3rd, EDM 4th, EDM 5th, EDM 6th, EDM 7th

Trade Chips

Edmonton probably isn’t looking to move much off of their NHL roster to facilitate a trade, however, they will likely need to shed some salary to acquire any high-priced talent. There have been rumors in recent weeks that they would like to shed Cody Ceci and his $3.25MM cap hit, and they also have Jack Campbell toiling in the AHL with his $5MM cap hit, but if Edmonton wanted to move on from either player it would require a sizeable asset to move the money out.

The Oilers do have some assets if they want to make a big move, as they still possess their first-round pick in the next few drafts and have most of their other draft capital as well. There will also be interest in defenseman Philip Broberg despite his lack of NHL success. The 22-year-old hasn’t exactly had a seamless transition to professional hockey, but he is having a strong season in the AHL.

Edmonton has one of the worst farm systems in the NHL, but it isn’t without a couple of intriguing players. Xavier Bourgault is not having the type of season he or the Oilers were hoping for with just six goals and 10 assists in 39 AHL games. The 2021 first-round pick is ranked by many as the Oilers’ top prospect and has shown that he is a great special teams player, but his scoring just isn’t there at even strength. He along with Broberg could be pieces of a bigger package to acquire a big-name player. But if they are the central pieces, it might require the Oilers to give up multiple first-round picks.

Another Oilers prospect is Raphael Lavoie whose size will certainly be alluring to teams who are looking for a big center with untapped potential. Lavoie is having a decent season in the AHL with 15 goals and 11 assists in 33 games, but at 23 years of age, it is hard to consider him a prospect at this point, especially one that can fetch to top-6 forward such as Guentzel.

If Edmonton does want to make a splash, it may require moving out young forward Dylan Holloway, who hasn’t found his offensive game in the NHL but does have good underlying numbers and will almost certainly be an NHL player. Holloway has posted good offensive numbers in the AHL but hasn’t spent of ton of time playing in Edmonton’s top-9 and could find that side of his game if given a chance.

One other intriguing prospect who could draw some interest is Matvei Petrov. The 20-year-old has had a slow start to his professional career with Bakersfield this season, and had a terrific, albeit brief OHL career with the North Bay Battalion. The former sixth-round pick has just five goals and three assists in 30 AHL games with the Condors but had 67 goals and 116 assists in 128 career OHL games. Petrov has good vision and hockey sense but is on the lighter side at the moment and could become much stronger on the puck if he could fill out his 6’2” frame.

Other Potential Trade Chips: D Beau Akey, F Maxim Berezkin

Team Needs

1) Top-6 Forward: The Oilers shuffled their lines yesterday and moved Corey Perry onto their second line. While Perry still has a role in the NHL, his days of being a top-6 forward are well behind him. The Oilers have a considerable gap between their top five forwards and all the remaining ones. Therein lies the need for another top-six winger. The Oilers would probably love to get a right shot forward, however, the market may force them to look at the left side which is why Guentzel’s name is being thrown around. If Edmonton can’t land a top-six forward, they could opt for a top-9 forward as a fallback option. Something they thought they were getting last summer when they signed Connor Brown.

2) A Reliable Second Goaltender: An argument could be made for an additional defender, but goaltending has been problematic for the Oilers for quite some time, which is why they signed Campbell two summers ago. Stuart Skinner has performed admirably for the Oilers and has earned the starter net. However, Edmonton would do well to find a solid backup who could take the net if Skinner were to falter or be dealt an injury. Alex Nedeljkovic out of Pittsburgh could be a good option should the Penguins falter and opt to sell at the deadline.  The Vegas Golden Knights showed last year that a team can never have too much reliable goaltending, and while the Oilers have three goaltenders who can play in the NHL, two of the three have a history of seeing their play fall off considerably. Something the Oilers can’t have as their contention window gets smaller and smaller.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Oilers Recall Raphael Lavoie, Assign Ben Gleason To AHL

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The Oilers have opted to make a pair of moves before tonight’s game versus Los Angeles.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled forward Raphael Lavoie from AHL Bakersfield while sending blueliner Ben Gleason to the Condors.

Lavoie opted to accept his qualifying offer this summer worth just over $874K over signing a lower-cost one-way deal or two-way pact with more guaranteed money.  He hoped that he’d land the final roster spot in training camp which would ultimately get him more in the long run.

But that didn’t quite work as planned as Edmonton waived the 23-year-old in training camp and after he cleared, assigned him to Bakersfield.  He has been quite productive with the Condors so far, notching 10 goals in just 19 games, picking up where left off on that front last year.  Lavoie also got into six games with Edmonton last month on a pair of recalls; he was held off the scoresheet in those contests while averaging 7:36 per game.  If he plays in four more games with the Oilers, he will need to pass through waivers once again.

As for Gleason, he cleared waivers in training camp and spent the first two months of the years with the Condors where he did well, picking up nine points in 14 games, earning him a recall three weeks ago.  However, the 25-year-old has been a healthy scratch in every game since then so this assignment will at least give him a chance to get some games in.  Gleason is in the first season of a two-year deal after coming over in free agency from Dallas with his contract converting to a one-way agreement next season.

Edmonton Oilers Make Several Roster Moves

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The Edmonton Oilers have announced several roster moves: defenseman Philip Broberg as well as forwards Raphael Lavoie and Adam Erne have been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, while forwards Mattias Janmark and Dylan Holloway have been placed on long-term injured reserve. Janmark’s LTIR placement is retroactive to October 26th.

Janmark, 30, has not played since that date and is currently dealing with a shoulder injury. He still has not yet returned to skating, so his LTIR placement reflects the long-term nature of his absence. A veteran bottom-six forward, Janmark scored 10 goals and 25 points last season but has been held off the scoresheet through seven games this year.

Holloway has been hit with some really poor luck, as just shortly after playing what some in the Edmonton media referred to as his “best game as an Edmonton Oiler” Saturday against the Seattle Kraken he has landed on LTIR.

Holloway went hard into the boards against the New York Islanders Monday night, leaving the game before its conclusion.

Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game that Holloway’s absence would be “longer-term,” an unfortunate reality that Holloway’s placement on LTIR reflects.

A fast and energetic forward, Holloway’s offensive production in the NHL hasn’t quite matched what he posted at the University of Wisconsin or what the Oilers likely expected when they drafted him 14th overall in 2020. This season was viewed as a crucial one for Holloway’s offensive development, and now with this injury, he has been hit with a potentially significant setback.

As for the recalls, bringing Broberg back into the fold affords Knoblauch more options on defense as he, before these moves, had just six defensemen on his roster. With Broberg now available, he could opt to shift Vincent Desharnais out of the everyday lineup, something that might be necessary as the hulking six-foot-seven rearguard has struggled this season.

Broberg, who is just a few short months older than Holloway, is in many ways in a similar situation. He’s also a player the Oilers spent a premium pick on who has yet to truly figure out how to make an impact in the NHL. Perhaps with the games afforded to him by this recall, Broberg will be able to make strides in establishing himself as a regular at the game’s highest level.

Erne, 28, is a veteran bottom-six forward who has been recalled to bolster the depth Knoblauch has at his disposal on offense. While he has not scored in six NHL games this season, he does bring nearly 400 games of NHL experience to the table. Lavoie, 23, is notably less experienced but has had a genuine AHL breakout over the last two seasons, putting together an impressive run of offensive production.

He’s gotten a chance in the Oilers’ top-nine already this season, but now with two new voices behind the Oilers bench it’s unsurprising that he’s gotten another shot to impress.

These recalls fill out the Oilers roster to a degree the team may not have been able to do without Janmark’s $1MM cap hit on LTIR. Now Knoblauch has additional players at his disposal on the NHL roster who can hopefully help the Oilers dig themselves out of the colossal early-season hole they dug themselves into.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Oilers’ Raphael Lavoie Sent To AHL

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The Edmonton Oilers have announced that they’ve sent forward Raphael Lavoie to their AHL affiliate the Bakersfield Condors. Lavoie did not require waivers to be demoted as he cleared them at the beginning of the season and did not play in ten games or spend 30 days on the Oilers roster.

Lavoie dressed in five games for the Oilers and didn’t record any points. He was utilized in a sheltered fourth-line role with the big club and averaged less than eight minutes of ice time per game. The club did their best to protect the 23-year-old as he took 65% of his zone starts in the offensive zone.

Lavoie has had a terrific start to his season in the AHL registering four goals and three assists in just five games. Last season, the former second-round pick dressed in 65 AHL games for the Condors and posted 25 goals and 20 assists. Given his steady offensive improvement and the fact that Lavoie was one of the Oilers’ last training camp cuts, it is fair to say that he could earn another look later in the season. Particularly, if the Oilers decide to sell off some of the veteran players should the season get away from them.

Lavoie’s demotion may be a signal that veteran forward Connor Brown is ready to return for Edmonton. Brown called himself day-to-day just five days ago which indicated that he was inching closer to a return. He has missed the two Edmonton games since those comments, but the sentiment is that he could be back this week. Much like Lavoie, Brown has struggled this season as he too is pointless thus far.

Edmonton Oilers Recall Raphael Lavoie

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The Edmonton Oilers have announced they have recalled forward Raphael Lavoie from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Although not confirmed, it is likely due to the apparent injury to forward Connor Brown in last night’s game against the Dallas Stars, causing him to leave the rest of the game in the second period.

In what will only be the second callup of his young career, Lavoie has been one of the better-performing members of the Condors over the last several seasons. A second-round pick by the Oilers in the 2019 NHL Draft, Lavoie has amassed a total of 141 games for Bakersfield, scoring 47 goals and 41 assists.

Given that the team only has 12 forwards on their active roster, if Brown is unable to play tomorrow against the Nashville Predators, Lavoie will be guaranteed to make his NHL debut. In all honesty, it may not be the worst idea in the world for the Oilers to add a different player to their bottom six, as the current group at the bottom of the forward core has yet to deliver in any meaningful way to start the season.

With a large frame and a more-than-ready NHL shot, Lavoie could have some staying power with Edmonton for much of the season. However, his foot speed leaves a lot to be desired, and he has appeared to take a handful of games off with Bakersfield over the last several years.

Waivers: 10/08/23

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Oct. 9: Four players on this list were claimed today: A.J. Greer (Calgary), John Ludvig (Pittsburgh), Ivan Prosvetov (Colorado), and Lassi Thomson (Ottawa). All others have cleared and are expected to be assigned to their team’s respective AHL affiliates, aside from Boyd, who PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports remains on the Coyotes’ active roster for now.

Oct. 8: It’s expected to be a busy day on the waiver wire, as NHL teams are making their final adjustments to the roster they’ll bring into the start of the 2023-24 season. There have already been numerous notable names exposed to the waiver wire thus far this preseason, and that list could only expand today. All players from yesterday’s waiver wire have cleared.

Anaheim Ducks

D Lassi Thomson
G Alex Stalock
F Andrew Agozzino

Boston Bruins

F Patrick Brown
F A.J. Greer

Arizona Coyotes

F Travis Boyd
F Zach Sanford
G Ivan Prosvetov

Carolina Hurricanes

D Dylan Coghlan

Chicago Blackhawks

F Joey Anderson

Colorado Avalanche

F Riley Tufte

Dallas Stars

F Riley Damiani

Detroit Red Wings

F Zach Aston-Reese

Edmonton Oilers

F Raphael Lavoie
F Lane Pederson
D Ben Gleason

Florida Panthers

F Zac Dalpe
D John Ludvig
D Casey Fitzgerald

Los Angeles Kings

F Jaret Anderson-Dolan

Montreal Canadiens

F Joel Armia
D Gustav Lindström

Ottawa Senators

F Bokondji Imama

Pittsburgh Penguins

G Magnus Hellberg
F Colin White
D Mark Friedman
F Vinnie Hinostroza
F Radim Zohorna

St. Louis Blues
F Mackenzie MacEachern
D Calle Rosen
G Malcolm Subban
F Nathan Walker

Tampa Bay Lightning

D Zach Bogosian
F Gabriel Fortier

Toronto Maple Leafs

G Martin Jones
F Kyle Clifford
F Dylan Gambrell
D William Lagesson
D Maxime Lajoie

Vancouver Canucks

F Jack Studnicka
D Christian Wolanin

Vegas Golden Knights

F Grigori Denisenko

Winnipeg Jets

D Kyle Capobianco
G Collin Delia
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby

The big surprise here out of Arizona regards Boyd. The versatile 30-year-old veteran doesn’t have an exorbitant contract (just $1.75MM through the end of the season) and has scored 69 points across the last two seasons.

He’s been something of a breakout player for the Coyotes as his 17-goal, 35-point 2022-23 was far and away his best season in his career, so it’s definitely a surprise to see him exposed on waivers.

For Anaheim, the move to waive Stalock likely means that Lukáš Dostál has won the Ducks’ backup goalie job behind John Gibson, as should Stalock clear the Ducks will have the option to send him down to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.

In Edmonton, it comes as a little bit of a surprise to see Lavioe waived. The 23-year-old power forward was drafted just outside of the 2019 first round, and took a real step forward in his development last season. He became a genuinely impactful AHLer, scoring 25 goals and 45 points. He’s a name to watch in terms of players with the potential to be claimed out of this group.

Anderson-Dolan finally made the NHL on an extended basis last season, and scored 12 points in 46 games. He even got some playoff action under his belt, but seeing as he was a near-point-per-game scorer in his last season in the AHL, it seems the Kings could prefer to have him start the season with the AHL’s Ontario Reign.

Rosen appears the likeliest candidate from the Blues’ group of waived players to be of interest to other teams, as he’s owed just a $762.5k cap hit this season and impressed in 49 games of NHL action last season. He scored 18 points in that span and could interest teams in need of some additional defensive help.

Out of Tampa is Bogosian, and it’s reported that the Lightning are hoping to put the veteran blueliner in a position to land on another team where he can play a bigger role than he’d be offered in Tampa. The 33-year-old won a Stanley Cup for the Lightning and it seems that the organization is looking to do right by the player while also turning to other options to staff their defense.

One of the biggest names on waivers comes out of Toronto, as Jones played in 48 games last season but now finds himself exposed to 31 other clubs. With an $875k cap hit, the veteran netminder could end up claimed by teams in need of instant goaltending support, such as the Lightning who don’t have much depth after the injury to superstar Andrei Vasilevskiy.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

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