- Now on the waiver wire for the third time this week, Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal believes the Edmonton Oilers may look to trade forward prospect Raphael Lavoie. Matheson shares correctly that Lavoie is in no-man land in the Oilers organization being too good for bottom six duties and not good enough to crack the top six. If Lavoie clears waivers tomorrow he will at least get a consistent role with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors but could see his name in an early trade to start the year.
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Oilers Rumors
Oilers Place Raphael Lavoie On Waivers
Forward Raphael Lavoie has hit waivers for the third time this week. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic reports that the Oilers will try again to sneak him through to AHL Bakersfield.
Lavoie, a second-round pick of Edmonton in 2019, initially hit waivers on Sunday as the Oilers needed him off their opening night roster to be cap-compliant. The Golden Knights pounced on the 24-year-old, taking him out of the Oilers organization, but they weren’t interested in keeping him on the NHL roster and instead claimed him in the hopes they could pass him through to AHL Henderson the following day.
The Oilers never wanted to lose Lavoie, though, and took the opportunity to re-claim him off the wire yesterday. They weren’t the only team to submit a claim, though. One of the eight teams who finished ahead of them in the league standings last season also made one, meaning Edmonton couldn’t assign Lavoie directly to Bakersfield after re-claiming him. As such, he’s back on the wire today as Edmonton tries to return him to the minors for a second time.
Lavoie cracked the AHL All-Star Game roster for the first time last season while recording 28 goals and 50 points in 66 games for the Condors, all career-highs. He also made his NHL debut, going without a point and posting a -2 rating in seven appearances for Edmonton. After a brief dance with restricted free agency, he signed a one-year, two-way pact ($775K/$200K) to return to the Oilers over the offseason.
Oilers Re-Claim Raphael Lavoie Off Waivers
The Oilers have re-acquired Raphael Lavoie off waivers, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He was lost on the wire to the Golden Knights just two days ago. If Edmonton was the only team to submit a claim, they can now assign him directly to AHL Bakersfield.
Even if Edmonton wasn’t the only team to submit a claim, they can still get away with having him on the active roster for now. They had two open spots and were up to $1.06MM in cap space before the claim after moving Evander Kane to LTIR, per PuckPedia, enough to shoulder Lavoie’s league minimum cap hit.
It’s good tidings for the Oilers, who never wanted to lose Lavoie in the first place. A victim of roster math, he’s on the cusp of a full-time NHL role after posting 50 points in 66 games for their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield last season. The 2019 second-round pick has intriguing size at 6’4″ and 216 lbs and can play both center and wing – an appealing mix for a depth scorer.
He’s especially so on a contending and cap-strapped Oilers club, who would likely insert him into the lineup the first chance they get if an injury strikes. The Golden Knights were hoping to see what they had in him by giving him some runway with their AHL affiliate in Henderson, but it wasn’t in the cards.
Pacific Notes: Kane, Savoie, Wright, Eberle
As expected the Edmonton Oilers have announced they have placed forward Evander Kane on long-term injured reserve to start the 2024-25 NHL season. He had major surgery in mid-September on two torn hip adductor muscles, two hernias, and two torn lower abdominal muscles which will keep him off the ice for the next four months.
The move gives Edmonton some much-needed financial breathing room and will allow them to safely register Travis Dermott’s one-year, $775K contract. Kane’s LTIR placement gives the Oilers $5.125MM in cap room after starting the year with only $53 of space.
Things will get tricky for Edmonton once Kane returns from surgery in mid-January since his contract will be added back to the active roster. The team will still accrue cap space thanks to a separate transaction today (more on that later) but will still be in a bind when Kane returns.
Other Pacific notes:
- In the same announcement, the Oilers shared they have reassigned forwards Matthew Savoie and Cameron Wright to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. The two combined for $1.811MM in cap space with the latter signing a one-year, $925K contract with the team yesterday. Coupled with the team officially signing Dermott to a one-year, $775K contract they have opened up another $1.036MM in salary cap space.
- Before the team’s first game of the regular season against the St. Louis Blues this afternoon, the Seattle Kraken named their second captain in franchise history. Forward Jordan Eberle will now don the ’C’ for Seattle and will be the first player to do so since defenseman Mark Giordano. Eberle was selected by the Kraken from the New York Islanders in the 2021 Expansion Draft and signed a two-year, $9.5MM extension with the club during the 2023-24 regular season.
Edmonton Oilers Sign Travis Dermott
4:41 PM: Edmonton has officially announced the one-year, two-way contract for Dermott.
11:27 AM: The Oilers still have defenseman Travis Dermott with the organization on a professional tryout, and it’s expected to result in a two-way contract tomorrow, per PuckPedia. Edmonton still has some procedural moves to make, including maximizing their cap hit before placing winger Evander Kane on LTIR, so it’s not surprising Dermott’s deal has had to wait. While it’s a two-way deal, it would be a surprise to see Dermott land on waivers instead of starting the season on the NHL roster with the Oilers carrying only six defenders.
From 2018 to 2022, Dermott was a regular with the Maple Leafs, peaking as a serviceable third-pairing option who wasn’t afraid to involve himself physically. Over his first three seasons in Toronto, Dermott posted 41 points in 157 games with a +25 rating, averaging 17 minutes per contest. He was consistently among the team’s hit leaders, finishing third on the club with 100 in 64 appearances in 2018-19, and posted well above average possession metrics in his relatively easy minutes. While a left-shot defender, he’s logged some time playing on the right as well.
But over the past three seasons, his overall play has taken a step back. After being sent to the Canucks at the 2022 trade deadline, he missed most of the following season with a concussion and played just 11 games. He wasn’t given a qualifying offer and landed with the Coyotes shortly thereafter on a one-year, two-way deal for 2023-24. He avoided waivers and played 50 games last year for Arizona, posting seven points (2 G, 5 A) and a -14 rating while averaging 17:17 per game – the most ice time he’d logged since 2019-20.
Dermott’s showing last season certainly doesn’t jump off the page. However, he was given the toughest minutes of his career with the Yotes, starting nearly 60% of his even-strength shifts in the defensive end. His possession metrics responded in kind, posting a 45.0 xGF% and a 44.3 CF%, the worst possession numbers of any Arizona defender not named Josh Brown, who’s now also in the Oilers organization.
The Oilers’ defense is far from set after they lost Vincent Desharnais in free agency and cap constraints forced them to deal Cody Ceci to the Sharks. They’re looking for a partner for Darnell Nurse on the team’s second pairing, a competition Dermott may enter alongside Ty Emberson and Troy Stecher.
Edmonton Signs Cameron Wright, Recall Matt Savoie
The Edmonton Oilers are bringing up some depth from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. The team announced they have signed forward Cameron Wright to a one-year, two-way contract worth $925K and have recalled forward Matthew Savoie.
Wright has been bouncing around the AHL and ECHL over the last few years after finishing his college tenure at the University of Denver in 2021-22. His first professional season came a year later in the Colorado Avalanche organization, where Wright played 64 games for the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies and two for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.
His first year with the Oilers organization came last season where Wright managed 48 games for the Condors. He became an effective goal scorer at the bottom of the lineup with 12 goals and 21 points in total.
It will be interesting to see how long Wright and Savoie stick around on Edmonton’s roster to begin the 2024-25 NHL season. The latter recently joined the Oilers organization in the offseason in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres and quickly became one of Edmonton’s top prospects.
This year would mark his first full year in professional hockey after small appearances with the AHL Rochester Americans and Sabres last year. The Oilers have yet to put Evander Kane on LTIR which will inevitably open up much-needed financial flexibility for the roster.
Pacific Notes: Ryan, Dermott, Garland
Edmonton Oilers forward Derek Ryan took part in the team’s practice today as a full participant (as per Oilers reporter Tony Brar). Ryan was only on the ice for the latter stage of the team’s morning skate on Friday and didn’t play in their preseason game on Friday evening. He was deemed day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, but it does appear as though the 37-year-old should be good for opening night.
Ryan will likely see significant time as the Oilers’ fourth-line center and could be flanked by Vasily Podkolzin and Corey Perry. Edmonton waived two forwards earlier today, one of whom (Raphael Lavoie) was in the running Ryan’s role on the fourth line and was a bit of a surprise cut given his young age and potential upside. Ryan is nearing the end of his career and is coming off the least productive offensive season of his nine-year NHL career.
In other Pacific Division notes:
- Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch spoke to the media today about the status of defenseman Travis Dermott (as per Oilers reporter Tony Brar). The 27-year-old has had a great training camp with Edmonton but remains unsigned and is working under a PTO. The Oilers waived Josh Brown today who they signed earlier this summer, and his demotion could signal that the Oilers are ready to commit to Dermott for this season. Dermott could explore his options elsewhere like Kevin Labanc did when he left his PTO with New Jersey to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
- Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland skated today by himself for the team’s practice (as per Ben Kuzma of Postmedia). Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet told the media that the team is hopeful that Garland will be ready to play on opening night this Wednesday. Garland suffered an undisclosed injury on Friday morning during practice and was considered day-to-day as he sat out Friday night’s preseason game for precautionary reasons. Given the injuries that Vancouver is currently dealing with, it’s easy to see why the team was cautious with Garland.
Waiver Wire: 10/6/24
Today is the major day for the waiver wire as most teams in the NHL are preparing the 23-man rosters for the 2024-25 NHL season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that all players on waivers from yesterday have cleared. The following list is each player placed on waivers this afternoon as reported by PuckPedia.
Boston Bruins
F Patrick Brown
G Brandon Bussi
G Jiri Patera
D Billy Sweezey
F Jeffrey Viel
Buffalo Sabres
D Kale Clague
G James Reimer
F Lukas Rousek
Calgary Flames
G Devin Cooley
F Jakob Pelletier
F Cole Schwindt
Carolina Hurricanes
F Josiah Slavin
D Ty Smith
F Ryan Suzuki
Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
F Sheldon Dries
D Justin Holl
D William Lagesson
D Brogan Rafferty
F Joe Snively
Edmonton Oilers
D Josh Brown
F Drake Caggiula
F Raphael Lavoie
G Olivier Rodrigue
Los Angeles Kings
G Pheonix Copley
F Samuel Fagemo
F Jack Studnicka
Nashville Predators
New Jersey Devils
F Shane Bowers
D Nick DeSimone
F Nolan Foote
D Colton White
New York Islanders
D Samuel Bolduc
F Pierre Engvall
F Hudson Fasching
F Liam Foudy
G Marcus Hogberg
D Grant Hutton
F Fredrik Karlstrom
G Jakub Skarek
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Pittsburgh Penguins
D Sebastian Aho
F Bokondji Imama
St. Louis Blues
D Corey Schueneman
D Tyler Tucker
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Gage Goncalves
D Steven Santini
F Jesse Ylonen
Toronto Maple Leafs
G Matt Murray
D Marshall Rifai
Utah Hockey Club
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
F Zach Aston-Reese
F Tanner Laczynski
F Jonas Rondbjerg
Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets
Edmonton Oilers Place Four Players On Waivers
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.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/6/24
The NHL pre-season has ended, sparking the frantic rush for final roster cuts across the league before the regular season begins. Final rosters are due by 5 P.M. on October 7th and, as always, we’ll follow the day’s cuts below.
Last updated: 4:53 p.m.
Boston Bruins (per team announcement)
G Ryan Bischel (to AHL Providence)
F Patrick Brown (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
G Brandon Bussi (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
D Michael Callahan (to AHL Providence)
F Riley Duran (to AHL Providence)
D Jackson Edward (to AHL Providence)
F Brett Harrison (to AHL Providence)
G Kasimir Kaskisuo (to AHL Providence)
F Fabian Lysell (to AHL Providence)
F Georgii Merkulov (to AHL Providence)
F Jaxon Nelson (to AHL Providence)
G Jiri Patera (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
D Billy Sweezey (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
F Jeffrey Viel (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
Carolina Hurricanes (per team announcement)
F Skyler Brind’Amour (to AHL Chicago)
D Domenick Fensore (to AHL Chicago)
F Sam Gagner (released from PTO)
F Rocco Grimaldi (released from PTO)
F Noel Gunler (to AHL Chicago)
D Aleksi Heimosalmi (to AHL Chicago)
D Anttoni Honka (to NL HC Ajoie)
F Juha Jaaska (to AHL Chicago)
G Ruslan Khazheyev (to AHL Chicago)
D Charles-Alexis Legault (to AHL Chicago)
G Spencer Martin (to AHL Chicago)
D Scott Morrow (to AHL Chicago)
F Bradly Nadeau (to AHL Chicago)
G Yaniv Perets (to AHL Chicago)
F Justin Robidas (to AHL Chicago)
D Ronan Seeley (to AHL Chicago)
F Josiah Slavin (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
D Ty Smith (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
F Felix Unger Sorum (to AHL Chicago)
F Ryan Suzuki (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
F Gleb Trikozov (to AHL Chicago)
Chicago Blackhawks (per CHGO Blackhawks)
F Brandon Baddock (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
G Drew Commesso (to AHL Rockford)
D Louis Crevier (to AHL Rockford)
F Colton Dach (to AHL Rockford)
D Ethan Del Mastro (to AHL Rockford)
F Cole Guttman (to AHL Rockford)
D Kevin Korchinski (to AHL Rockford)
F Frank Nazar (to AHL Rockford)
F Zach Sanford (to AHL Rockford)
F Samuel Savoie (to AHL Rockford)
F Landon Slaggert (to AHL Rockford)
D Austin Strand (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team announcement)
D Denton Mateychuk (to AHL Cleveland)
Dallas Stars (per team announcement)
D Kyle Capobianco (to AHL Texas)
G Magnus Hellberg (to AHL Texas)
F Cameron Hughes (to AHL Texas)
F Kole Lind (to AHL Texas)
D Alexander Petrovic (to AHL Texas)
F Mathias Emilio Pettersen (to AHL Texas)
Detroit Red Wings (per team announcement)
F Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (to SHL Skellefteå AIK)
G Sebastian Cossa (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Nate Danielson (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Tory Dello (to AHL Grand Rapids)
G Carter Gylander (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Cross Hanas (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Marco Kasper (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Carter Mazur (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Elmer Söderblom (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Antti Tuomisto (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Eemil Viro (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D William Wallinder (to AHL Grand Rapids)
Edmonton Oilers (per team announcement)
D Josh Brown (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
F Drake Caggiula (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
F Raphael Lavoie (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
F Noah Philp (to AHL Bakersfield)
G Olivier Rodrigue (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
Florida Panthers (per team announcement)
D Matt Kiersted (to AHL Charlotte)
F William Lockwood (to AHL Charlotte)
Los Angeles Kings (per team announcement)
G Pheonix Copley (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Samuel Fagemo (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Andre Lee (to AHL Ontario)
F Jack Studnicka (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
New Jersey Devils (per team announcement)
F Shane Bowers (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
G Nico Daws (to AHL Utica)
D Nick DeSimone (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
F Nolan Foote (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
D Colton White (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
New York Rangers (per team announcement)
D Connor Mackey (to AHL Hartford)
San Jose Sharks (per team announcement)
D Jérémie Bucheler (to AHL San Jose)
F Nolan Burke (to AHL San Jose)
F Colin White (to AHL San Jose)
D Jimmy Schuldt (to AHL San Jose)
Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)
F John Hayden (to AHL Coachella Valley)
D Josh Mahura (to AHL Coachella Valley)
St. Louis Blues (per team announcement)
F Zach Dean (to AHL Springfield)
F Dalibor Dvorsky (to AHL Springfield)
F Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (to AHL Springfield)
F Mathias Laferriere (to AHL Springfield)
F Hugh McGing (to AHL Springfield)
F Dylan Peterson (to AHL Springfield)
D Samuel Johannesson (to AHL Springfield)
D Hunter Skinner (to AHL Springfield)
G Vadim Zherenko (to AHL Springfield)
Tampa Bay Lightning (per Eduardo A. Encica of the Tampa Bay Times)
F Dylan Duke (to AHL Syracuse)
F Gage Goncalves (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
F Maxim Groshev (to AHL Syracuse)
F Jesse Ylonen (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
F Gabriel Szturc (to AHL Syracuse)
D Steven Santini (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
D Matt Tomkins (to AHL Syracuse)
D Declan Carlile (to AHL Syracuse)
F Ethan Gauthier (to QMJHL Drummondville)