Today is the deadline for players to accept their qualifying offers. One player that has elected to take his is Oilers prospect Raphael Lavoie as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the winger has accepted his offer which carries a salary of $874,125 in the NHL and $70K in the minors.
The 22-year-old was a second-round pick by Edmonton back in 2019 (38th overall) and spent his entire entry-level deal at the AHL level with Bakersfield. He got off to a slow start but finished strong with 21 points in his final 24 games, giving him 25 goals and 20 assists on the year in 61 games.
A big winger standing 6’4, Lavoie figures to be a candidate to earn a spot on Edmonton’s roster next season. However, this contract might actually hurt those chances. With cap space at an absolute premium, the Oilers will likely want their depth pieces making the minimum of $775K; had Lavoie accepted that as an NHL salary in exchange for a higher AHL one, he could have guaranteed himself more money and given himself a better chance to make their roster.
However, Lavoie appears to be betting on himself here, believing that he can outright earn a spot in Edmonton’s lineup which would bank him nearly an extra $100K in the process. He’ll once again be a restricted free agent next summer where the NHL portion of his qualifying offer will be just under $918K.
He can stay in the AHL an other year to tear the competition over there by continuing with his end of season point production.
His ceiling is still high, he’s not projected to be a third line guy, so a this price he’s still a good deal.
Also its an Oilers offer, not his own offer…