Insider exposes what happened to poor Raphael Lavoie during waivers madness!

At the start of the month, it was a wild waiver week for ex-Edmonton Oilers prospect Raphael Lavoie. The young forward became a hot commodity when the Oilers first placed him on waivers on October 6 with the hopes of sending him down to the Bakersfield Condors. However, the Vegas Golden Knights claimed him on October 7, and placed him back on the wire the following day, looking to assign him to their farm team. The Oilers jumped back in again, claiming Lavoie on October, and placing him back on waivers on October 10. That’s because it had been confirmed that another team, one further down the waiver rankings — meaning they finished higher than Edmonton in the standings last season, made the claim for Lavoie on October 8 and the prospect could not be sent down at the time. Meaning he had to go through waivers, again. Finally the saga came to an end on October 11 when Lavoie was once again claimed by Vegas, and was there to stay.

In his latest 32 Thoughts column on Sportsnet, Elliotte Friedman revealed what Lavoie had to go through when awaiting his fate. The back-and-forth that turned into a to-and-fro between the Oilers and the Golden Knights looked like complicated maths on the outside for any fans, but the truth is the kid had to deal with the whole back and forth from a hotel room, away from his family:

“Raphael Lavoie waited in an Edmonton hotel two weeks ago while teams played ping-pong with his future. Waived by the Oilers, snared by Vegas, taken back by his original club — but unable to go to AHL Bakersfield because someone else put in a claim — then grabbed again by the Golden Knights, who sent him to AHL Henderson because the mystery team backed off.”

Friedman also speculated on how the third team placing a claim was, pointing at where Lavoie could have ended up during this waivers saga:

“Suspicion centred on Colorado, but a few sources denied that. I wondered about Dallas. First, I could see the Stars being intrigued by Lavoie, as he fits their identity profile. Second, they had depth/injury concerns. Mavrik Bourque started skating when Edmonton waived Lavoie a second time; his quick return from injury made me wonder if they could have changed their minds. Teams are not to discuss waiver claims if they don’t get the player.”