There was an intriguing National Hockey League deal made on Wednesday as the Utah Mammoth traded Connor Ingram of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to the Edmonton Oilers for future considerations according to nhl.com.
The Oilers are looking to get some goaltending depth behind Stuart Skinner of Edmonton, Alberta and Calvin Pickard of Moncton, New Brunswick, and that is exactly what they were able to achieve. At this time it appears Ingram will start the season in southern California, specifically Bakersfield. Ingram will be the starting goaltender of the Condors of the American Hockey League.
However, now what the question in Edmonton is how long will it take before Ingram makes the step to the big club and how long will the Oilers coaching staff be patient with Skinner or Pickard out of the gate? There are still a lot of miserable Oilers fans about how poorly Skinner and Pickard played in the final two games of the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Finals, and there is an immense amount of pressure on the entire Oilers organization to win the Stanley Cup in June. Remember a Canadian team has not won the Stanley Cup since 1993 when the Montreal Canadiens were victorious.
Great 2023-24 season, poor 2024-25 season
It has been a tale of two different seasons for Ingram. In 2023-24 while still with the Arizona Coyotes, Ingram actually led the NHL in shutouts with six. Ingram was tied with Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky of Novokuznetsk, Russia, Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry of Surrey, British Columbia, and Washington Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren of Lakeville, Minnesota.
Also in 2023-24, Ingram had a record of 23 wins, 21 regulation losses and three losses in extra time. He had a goals against average of 2.91 and save percentage of .907. Then in 2024-25 with the Utah Mammoth, Ingram only played 22 games and had a record of nine wins, eight losses, and four losses in extra time. He saw his goals against average rise to 3.27, his save percentage drop to .882, and lost his starting job in Utah to Karel Vejmelka of Trebic, Czech Republic. One must realize Ingram missed some time this past season as well because his mother passed away of breast cancer.
Trade Grades
There is not much of a risk for the Oilers here. That is why they get a grade of B. As far as the Mammoth go, they will get a C. It further cements Utah’s decision that they will go with Vitek Vanecek as Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic as Vejmelka’s backup. You just don’t know what you will get with future considerations.
