The Edmonton Oilers must improve their goaltending this season. After two solid seasons, starter Stuart Skinner regressed last year. Calvin Pickard is a solid backup, but should not be asked to carry the load for a Championship-calibre team.
Heavy.com has proposed a trade that would see the Oilers acquire recently instated Connor Ingram of the Utah Mammoth. He could be a valuable trade chip for the Mammoth before the regular season begins.
Oilers Acquire:
- Connor Ingram ($1.95 million)
Mammoth Acquire:
- Mattias Janmark ($1.45 million)
- Matvei Petrov ($803,333)
This trade would be on the smaller side, but it wouldn’t be any less critical. The Oilers would get a backup upgrade, and the Mammoth would get a versatile forward in addition to a prospect to increase their organizational depth.
In this proposal, the Oilers acquire Ingram. The 28-year-old Saskatoon-born goalie was the 88th overall selection by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016. The 6-foot-1, 218 lb netminder played in 22 games last season. Ingram posted a 9-8-4 record, a 3.27 goals against average (GAA), and a .882 save percentage (SV%).
Going the other way would be Mattias Janmark, the 32-year-old winger who recorded 18 points in 80 games during the 2024-25 season. The 6-foot-2, 205 lb Janmark was initially drafted 79th overall in 2013 by the Detroit Red Wings.
Finally, adding Matvei (or Matvey) Petrov would increase their forward prospect depth. The 22-year-old was initially drafted 180th overall by the Oilers in 2021. The 6-foot-2, 178 lb forward recorded 16 points in 50 AHL games last year.
The Edmonton Oilers Could Use Connor Ingram
At the beginning of their offseason, Oilers GM Stan Bowman identified goaltending as an area to improve. So far this summer, they have been connected to Michael DiPietro, Nico Daws, and Sebastian Cossa.
“I think it’s something we’ll look at and investigate to determine the best path moving forward for our team,” Bowman said to the media at the Oilers’ year-end availability. “It’s really hard to predict where that’s going to go.”
Part of that process involved swapping out Dustin Schwartz for Peter Aubry at the goaltending coach position. Having Aubry and his new set of eyes will be important for the Oilers to get better performances out of their current netminders.
As for Ingram, he is coming off a poor season. He entered the NHLPA’s Players’ Assistance program in March. A few months prior, in December, his mother passed away from breast cancer. Understandably, his performance on the ice would slip away from him.
On August 20th, the NHL and NHLPA cleared Ingram to return to the NHL.
As The Hockey News identified, with Ingram returning, the Mammoth now have three goalies under NHL contracts for this year.
“Karel Vejmelka is entering the first year of a five-year extension,” The Hockey News wrote. “While Vitek Vanecek signed a one-year deal this summer after winning a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers.”
Before the 2024-25 season, Ingram was coming off a massive season. In 50 games, he had six shutouts in addition to 26 quality starts and an 8.3 goals saved above expected (GSAx).
Oilers Could Benefit From Ingram Being the Odd Man Out
Vanecek was a free agency addition for the Mammoth. With Ingram still in the Players’ Assistance program at the time, the Mammoth couldn’t rest on its laurels.
Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong had high praise for the team’s newest netminder.
“He’s had some monstrous years in the NHL,” Armstrong said during the availability. “I think with (Vanecek), he’s got some ability to push and win some games for us, some key games. What we loved about him is (that) he’s a winner. He’s been around that environment.”
“He’s a worker, he always wants to be on the ice, you know, kind of perfecting his craft, and so he’s going to be a great add for us this year.”
With Armstrong’s belief in their new goalie clear, Ingram is as available as he’s ever going to be. The Oilers would be foolish not to jump at the opportunity.
Oilers Add Recently Cleared Goalie in New Trade Pitch