On Monday, the Vegas Golden Knights made the decision to place prospect Lucas Elvenes on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.
This comes as somewhat of a surprise as Elvenes was viewed by most as a solid prospect for the Golden Knights, though his stock had decreased in recent seasons. The 22-year-old centerman was taken in the fifth-round (127 overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and has been playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the past three seasons.
His rookie season in the AHL was his best to date, as he led his team in scoring with 48 points in 59 games. Though his offensive production has cooled off some since, he is still relatively young and has plenty of potential, making it likely that another NHL team will give him a shot somewhere down the line. For the remainder of the 2021-22 season however, he is returning to his home country of Sweden to play in the Swedish Hockey League.
“He had an opportunity to play in Europe,” Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “We mutually agreed it was best for both parties.”
From comments made by Lucas Elvenes’ agent on Monday, it sounds as though the team failing to call up his client throughout his three seasons in the AHL caused frustration, which ultimately led to this decision. Unfortunately for Elvenes sake, the Golden Knights are one of the league’s best teams and have been since their inaugural season in 2017-18, making them a hard roster to crack for a prospect. Perhaps he is able to latch on with a weaker team in 2022-23 and get an opportunity at the NHL level.
Share This Article
Support independent news coverage by sharing on your platforms
