The Edmonton Oilers entered the 2025-26 season with the controversial goaltending tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard. Despite having made it to two straight Stanley Cup Finals with both Skinner and Pickard between the pipes, fans and media were very skeptical of the move by Oilers general manager Stan Bowman to not address the goalies over the off-season.
Soon into the start of the year, it became obvious that something had to be done with the Oilers on the outside looking in on the NHL playoff picture. This prompted the Oilers to make a big splash, acquiring Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry in December.
Soon after his acquisition, Jarry suffered an injury and forced the Oilers to make another change in net, recalling Connor Ingram from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Shortly after Jarry returned from injury, it became clear that Ingram and Jarry should be the Oilers' new goaltending tandem.
Since then, it has gone back and forth with Jarry proving he deserves the starting role at times and now, where it appears that Ingram has won the job, for now. At least according to head coach Kris Knoblauch as TSN reporter, Ryan Rishaug said on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.
Knoblauch acknowledging today that Connor Ingram is their starting goalie and will be given starts as such. He also said they’ll need Jarry down the stretch, and that improvement for him starts in practice to find confidence.
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) March 15, 2026
Connor Ingram deserves the starting job
Since being recalled in December, Ingram has grabbed the reins and ran with them this year and has proven to be the best goaltender the club has employed all season long.
Although the boxscore stats may not be awe-inspiring, rolling with a .891 save percentage and 2.50 goals against average heading into Sunday night's contest against the Nashville Predators. The 28 year old also entered the Predators game with a 9-6-2 record through 18 games, improving to 10-6-2 after capturing the victory.
However, digging into some of the underlying numbers, it paints Ingram's season in a much better light. He entered into Sunday's match with a .611 quality start percentage and undoubtedly improved that number further, he also sits second amongst Oilers goaltenders in goals saved above expected with a -1.42 at 5-on-5 a number that is sure to have improved.
When adjusting for his games since January 1st, allowing him some time to acclimate with the new club and shake off some rust at the NHL level, his numbers look even better, holding a positive 1.75 GSAx.
Ingram's net to lose
Of course, these numbers do not make him a slam dunk number one but given the play of his tandem partner, he is the Oilers' best option. Jarry still appears to have a chance to reclaim the crease but will need to prove himself worthy in an Oilers uniform.
Jarry has proven before that he can be a quality NHL starter in his time with the Penguins but has yet to return to this level with the Oilers. As Knoblauch pointed out, he will need to rebuild his confidence and get back to the level that Bowman and Oilers management expected when they trade for him late last year.