Arguably the biggest question mark plaguing the Edmonton Oilers entering the 2025-26 season has been their goaltending. Everybody has wanted the Oilers to make a change but nothing has been done ot upgrade their net.
Oilers presumptive staring goalie Stuart Skinner has faced harsh questions and criticisms ever since he took over the Oilers crease in the 2022-23 season. This comes despite having made the Stanley Cup Finals in back-to-back years.
Many saw it as a great opportunity for the Oilers to upgrade their goaltending position for no cost by picking netminder Connor Ingram off of waivers. The 28 year old hit the waiver wire yesterday and generated a lot of buzz but many National Hockey League (NHL) insiders announced he was left unclaimed on Friday.
Connor Ingram clears waivers
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) September 26, 2025
Oilers refuse to upgrade goaltending
All summer, the Oilers were rumoured to be in on virtually every single goaltender that was available via trade or free agency. However, the only move the team made was to sign depth netminder Matt Tomkins to serve as the team's de facto third-string goalie.
The rumours ranged from John Gibson to Alexander Georgiev and every time, Oilers fans dreamed of a world where general manager Stan Bowman brought them in to Oil Country. As of right now, nothing has materialized with many blaming money, a lack of desire to come to Edmonton, and lack of trade capital.
That is why fans were hoping for the Oilers brass to bring in a Ingram off waivers, who would cost almost nothing aside from his $1.95 million annual average value (AAV) for the next two years (according to puckpedia.com).
The team has been able to upgrade their depth through the waiver wire before, adding forward Kasperi Kapanen last year.
Ingram could have challenged as team starting goalie
Although current Calvin Pickard has played admirably when he has been called upon, rocking an .909 save percentage through 23 games in 2023-24 and a .900 save percentage through 36 in 2024-25. In total he has played 59 games over the past two seasons with a record of 34-17-2.
However, at 33 years old and with not a long track record as a legitimate NHL goalie, there is an air of uncertainty with him between the pipes. Ingram on the other hand has been a consistent netminder for the last three seasons compiling save percentages of .907, .907, and .882 respectively. Although last year was a major dip downwards, based on his previous two years it seems like a fluke.
As well, Ingram spent time with the NHLPA's player assistance program and was released and cleared to play by the program last month. The goalie revealed he was seeking grief counselling due to the passing of his mother, something that could definitely help explain his struggles on the ice.
Although he has cleared waivers, this does not rule out the Oilers trading for him as sometimes, teams will allow players to pass through waivers so they can become eligible to be sent back down to the American Hockey League (AHL) without needing to pass through waivers again.
This is a tactic team's sometimes employ if they are not certain the player will stick, allowing them more flexibility with roster decisions.