Raphaël Lavoie’s completely crazy week continues. The forward was claimed off waivers for the third time in five days, this time by the Vegas Golden Knights.
At the start of the week, Lavoie was a member of the Edmonton Oilers. Placed on waivers three times, he was in turn claimed by Vegas, Edmonton, then Vegas again.
When Edmonton claimed Lavoie, the team’s goal was to send him to the American League. However, this was impossible. Under the collective bargaining agreement, it is impossible to demote a player if another NHL team is interested in him. Edmonton was therefore forced to submit Lavoie to waivers another time.
So Vegas selected him. As the Golden Knights were the only team interested in his services, they will be able to demote him to their affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.
Last season, Raphaël Lavoie was shut out in the seven games he played with the Edmonton Oilers. The Chambly native scored 28 goals and 50 points in 66 games with the team’s affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.
Another goalie in Colorado
The Colorado Avalanche were also active on waivers Friday. The team claimed goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen from the Winnipeg Jets.
The Finn will therefore never have worn the Jets uniform in the regular season, having signed a one-year contract with the organization last July.
The goalie started last season with the San Jose Sharks before moving to the New Jersey Devils. He had just 7 wins in 34 outings last season, allowing 3.64 goals on average.
The Avalanche already had two goalies: Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen. The acquisition of Kahkonen may portend another move, otherwise there will be a menage a trois in Colorado.