Raphael Lavoie sends message to Oilers with AHL award
By Paul Taylor
Raphael Lavoie has been named AHL Player of the Week and you have to wonder how much longer the Edmonton Oilers can justify not recalling him.
Following on from the impressive 5-2 win in the Heritage Classic, there was more positive news on Monday for the Edmonton Oilers organisation. Raphael Lavoie was named AHL Player of the Week, for the period ending October 29, 2023.
Lavoie scored four goals and added two assists, for six total points in three games. The Bakersfield Condors won all three contests, for their best start through five games since joining the AHL for the 2015-16 season.
To date, the 23-year-old leads the Condors with four goals and seven overall points. Last season he led the team with 25 goals, on his way to 45 total points in 61 games.
To see Lavoie succeeding will come as no surprise to anyone within the Oilers organisation. He impressed during training camp and the preseason, and was one of the final roster cuts.
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There was plenty of uproar when this happened, although certain circumstances made placing the Chambly, Quebec native on waivers a necessity in some respects. Regardless, it was a risk which the Oilers were fortunate to get away with. (Why no one decided to claim him off waivers still remains a mystery, given his talent and upside.)
The question is, how much longer can the Oilers justify not recalling Lavoie, to make his NHL debut. Especially when you consider how erratic the team has been as a whole thus far?
Not a salary cap issue
One thing we can confirm, is it is a misconception that not recalling the forward is down to the Oilers’ precarious salary cap situation. Yes, the financial position is tight, but they can still navigate their way around it.
As per Allan Mitchell of The Athletic, one potential scenario could be to send down Adam Erne — who’s on a two-way contract — in order to recall Lavoie. This would leave the Oilers with $280,000 remaining in cap space.
Mitchell does go on to list other justifications and scenarios. However, the point is that the main reason stopping the Oilers from not recalling the 2019 38th overall draft pick, is because they just don’t want to yet.
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In this respect, it’s the organisation’s prerogative to do as they wish. However, when combining Lavoie’s current form and the Oilers’ lack of productivity from the bottom-six, it’s becoming harder to justify not recalling him.