Vegas Golden Knights claim two players off waivers including 6-foot-5 former top pick
The Vegas Golden Knights lost a lot of talent this summer, and now they've landed two talented young forwards on waivers.
Sunday, October 6th saw plenty of action on the NHL's waiver wire, with over 30 players placed on waivers including some shocking names. All eyes were originally on Jakob Pelletier and Pierre Engvall among others, but on Monday, it was the Golden Knights that perhaps had the two best moves of the day, as the team officially picked up both Cole Schwindt and Raphael Lavoie.
Schwindt was a former third-round draft pick, acquired by the Flames in the Jonathan Huberdeau/Matthew Tkachuk trade, who would go on to play four scoreless games for Calgary last season. However, he showed plenty of promise in the AHL, with the 6-foot-2 centre tallying a solid 14 goals and 36 points over 66 games played, and could likely fill the 4C role in Vegas.
As for Lavoie, he comes from the other side of the Battle of Alberta, with the former second-round pick expected to make a push for the Oilers roster in 2024/25, but after a strong training camp, he too was waived. With 28 goals and 50 points in 68 AHL games of his own, Lavoie should be featuring in the Oilers lineup to start the season, but after opting to favour their veterans, the team have now lost the young forward.
Ultimately, neither were in the long-term plans of their team, and although they could have won roles in the bottom-six at points this season, waiving them was the ideal move, and now they will fight for roles on a very talented Vegas Golden Knights roster.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 7 | 153 ANSWERS Vegas Golden Knights claim two players off waivers including 6-foot-5 former top pick Which one of these players will be better for the Vegas Golden Knights? | ||
| Cole Schwindt | 65 | 42.5 % |
| Raphael Lavoie | 88 | 57.5 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||