Connor Ingram Made a Huge Impact in Short Time With Oilers – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

From the day he was acquired via trade to the date he became a free agent, Connor Ingram was a member of the Edmonton Oilers organization for just nine months, and he had a stall in their dressing room for only about half that time, appearing in 37 games for the team.

But with all that said, there are very few players in Oilers history who made such a positive impact in such a short period of time as the goaltender from Saskatoon.

Ingram Announces Retirement

Ingram, who did not sign with any team since hitting free agency earlier this summer, announced his retirement from hockey on Friday (Sept. 11).

He hangs up his skates after five seasons in the NHL, with the Nashville Predators, Arizona Coyotes/Utah Hockey Club, and the Oilers, appearing in 134 regular-season games and nine playoff contests.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Freidman reported that the 29-year-old netminder’s goal is to go back to school for psychology.

Unique Perspective in Hockey

It’s not often that an NHL player calls it a career before his 30^th birthday, and even more rare is that they would do so to pursue higher education in a complex field.

But Ingram is not your average single-minded pro athlete. He’s overcome personal challenges, suffered setbacks, only to ultimately come out on top, and that journey informs a perspective that’s quite unique in hockey: that there’s more to life than the game.

Overcoming Obstacles

Selected 88^th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2016 NHL Draft, then traded to Nashville in 2019, Ingram spent his first few seasons of professional hockey in the minors.

Before he played an NHL regular-season game, Ingram nearly retired because of an undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and lingering depression. He entered the NHL/NHLPA Assistance Program, which the goalie credits with turning his life and career around.

After appearing in three games with the Predators during the 2021-22 season, Ingram was claimed off waivers by Arizona and played 27 games for the Coyotes in 2022-23.

In 2023-24, Ingram emerged as Arizona’s No. 1 netminder, posting a 23-21-3 record with a 2.91 goals-against average (GAA) and a .907 save percentage (SV%) in 50 games. Following the season, he was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, recognizing perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. 

During the offseason, the Coyotes relocated to Salt Lake City, where they were renamed Utah Hockey Club. Ingram remained part of the team, playing 22 games in 2024-25. He missed the final several weeks of the season after entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, seeking support following his mother’s death from breast cancer.

Joining the Oilers

On Oct. 1, 2025, about a week before the start of the NHL regular season, Ingram was traded to Edmonton by Utah in exchange for future considerations.

Some felt that Ingram should start the season on the Oilers roster, given Edmonton’s instability between the pipes with the tandem Calvin Pickard and Stuart Skinner. Instead, Ingram was assigned to Edmonton’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.

Goaltending remained a glaring weakness for the Oilers. Desperate to address the issue, Edmonton traded Skinner, along with defenceman Cody Ceci and a 2029 second-round pick, to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for goalie Tristan Jarry on Dec. 12.

Edmonton was moving forward with the new duo of Jarry and Pickard before Jarry was injured in just his third game with the team. In need of a second healthy goalie, the Oilers finally recalled Ingram on Dec. 19.

Ingram Stabilizes the Crease

Expectations weren’t huge upon his arrival in Edmonton, but Ingram quickly supplanted Pickard.  Over his first month with the Oilers, Ingram went 5-3-1 with a 2.22 GAA and .917 SV%. After Jarry returned from injury in mid-January, the Oilers elected to keep Ingram around, assigning Pickard to Bakersfield.

With Jarry struggling mightily to get on track in Edmonton, Ingram continued to provide a steady presence in goal throughout February and March. Ingram’s consistent play kept the underperforming Oilers above the playoff cutline. Edmonton ultimately clinched second place in the Pacific Division.

Ingram finished the regular season with a 16-10-3 record, 2.60 GAA and .899 SV% in 32 games, leading Edmonton in all goaltending categories. It’s not entirely far-fetched to suggest that the Oilers would have missed the postseason without Ingram’s play. They almost certainly wouldn’t have secured home-ice advantage for the first round. Fittingly, he was named Edmonton’s 2025-26 nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, despite starting only 30 games.

Edmonton was upset by the Anaheim Ducks, losing 4-2 in Round 1. Ingram started five of the six games and was in net for both Oilers’ wins. The netminder wasn’t great, posting a 3.86 GAA and .876 SV% in the series, but was hardly to blame for Edmonton’s elimination. It was a teamwide failure.

Impact Off the Ice

Beyond what he did on the ice, Ingram made a profound impact in Edmonton by simply sharing his thoughts. Ingram quickly gained a reputation for being honest and candid in interviews, providing perspective and insight that touched Oilers fans and the larger hockey community, and surely reverberated in the Rogers Place dressing room.

He wasn’t afraid to be open about his struggles, and in doing so, no doubt helped countless others. On a team with superstars, and part of a league where it sometimes seems like almost everyone speaks in clichés, Ingram was a relatable human being.

His farewell to the NHL, posted on Instagram, was as Ingram as it gets, simply reading: “Don’t be sad it’s over, be happy it happened. Thanks hockey, I owe ya.”

Ingram could have kept playing hockey. Someone surely would have signed him, for organizational depth at the very least. But he’s following his heart. In this next chapter, he’s going to continue being a difference maker, just off the ice.