It takes a special sort of person to play the position of goaltender in the National Hockey League. Willingly putting one's body in the path of 100 mile per hour slapshots and regularly ending up on the bottom of piles of defensemen and forwards isn't something most of us find attractive. Connor Ingram did that job for 134 NHL games, 32 of which were in Edmonton Oilers orange and blue.
It's almost a quarter of his career, so even if the team had relatively unimpressive results, the significance is still there. Ingram came into Edmonton as a longshot to play even a single game, behind Stuart Skinner, 2024-25 playoff hero Calvin Pickard, and eventually Tristan Jarry as well. But a combination of injuries and performance issues laid the opportunity at Ingram's skates, and he found a way to deliver.
Risk of missing the playoffs
While the Round 1 exit versus the Anaheim Ducks was disappointing, we can only imagine the anger and frustration that a missed postseason would have elicited in Oiler fandom. A Stanley Cup Playoff berth was far from a sure thing after the All-Star break, especially following Leon Draisaitl's lower body injury, and only a strong run by Ingram elevated the Oilers above the cluster of Pacific Division teams vying for the top three spots. The team almost captured its first divisional title since the 1980s as well.
That effort led Ingram to his first ever playoff win, and while he did end with a 2-3 record in the series, he was the only Oilers netminder to backstop the team to a victory. Ingram's goals against statistics versus the Ducks weren't pretty, but anyone can tell you that the 2025-26 version of the Oilers had broad defensive issues, so not all of that blame can land at Ingram's feet.
Ingram retires at 29 years of age, having played for the Oilers, Utah Mammoth and their previous iteration known as the Arizona Coyotes. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning, and made his way to the Nashville Predators as well, though he wasn't able to crack either of those NHL lineups. His retirement will allow him to pursue a secondary career in psychology. That subject is close to Ingram's heart, given his personal battles with depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. Ingram has spoken openly about dealing with those challenges, and he leaves hockey life behind to help others in similar difficulty.
Ingram earned his final NHL shutout on March 31st, 2026, against the Seattle Kraken. It also happened to be his 29th birthday. Happy travels Connor.
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