Oilers Bolster Goaltending with Connor Ingram Acquisition
The Edmonton Oilers have made a strategic move to strengthen their position in the goal, acquiring goaltender Connor Ingram from the Utah Mammoth. This trade represents another effort by the Oilers to secure an effective solution in the net.
The Mammoth, through an official statement on Wednesday, announced the agreement involving future considerations. Previously, on September 17, Utah had placed Ingram on waivers after informing him that he did not fit into their goaltending plans for the current season. Ingram was not claimed at that time.
The agreement includes Utah retaining $800,000, a little more than 41%, of Ingram’s contract, which extends to this season and has an impact on the salary cap of $1.95 million.
Ingram was expected to be the primary goaltender in Utah’s inaugural season, but his stats were 9-8-4 with a 3.27 goals-against average and an .882 save percentage in 22 games. At 28 years old, Ingram has faced challenges both on and off the ice. On March 9, following the passing of his mother from breast cancer, Ingram entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Previously, in 2021, while playing for the Nashville Predators, he had entered the program to address depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The 2023-24 season was a standout for Ingram with the Arizona Coyotes, where he recorded a 23-21-3 record in 50 games, with a 2.91 GAA, a .907 save percentage, and six shutouts. Ingram was awarded the 2024 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for his “perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey,” an award given by members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association.
Initially, Ingram will join the Oilers’ AHL team in Bakersfield.
Edmonton has struggled to find consistency in goal, despite having figures like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Current goalies Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard have led the Oilers to two consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances, where they were outplayed by Sergei Bobrovsky and lost both times to the Florida Panthers.
