Several of the Edmonton Oilers’Â key free agents, including goalie Connor Ingram, said they want to return to the team next season.
The Oilers lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Anaheim Ducks in an upset. The team went to the Stanley Cup finals the last two seasons, but were not able to make it past the first round this year. Changes will be coming to the team, but several of the team’s key free agents want to re-sign in Edmonton.
At the Oilers’ end-of-season press conference, Ingram was one of the players who confirmed he wants to come back to Edmonton next season when asked about his contract status.
“Yeah, I really enjoyed my time here. I’d love to be back,” Ingram said. “I pay a guy to have those conversations for me. I know we wait until the end of the year, it was just a busy year, and that was another thing I didn’t want to tack on top of it, so hopefully we’ll tackle it in the next couple of weeks here.”
Veteran winger Kasperi Kapanen also confirmed to wants to return for a third season with the Oilers.
“I do consider this home, and my son was born here, so it’s a special place. If it was up to me, I’d love to come back, but there’s a lot of things that go into it. Hopefully, the talks work out, and I come back,” Kapanen said. “This year, I felt like I played some pretty good hockey. One thing I try to emphasize on is being consistent and I felt like I was doing that for pretty much the whole season. It’s a shame it ended this season, but hopefully it wasn’t my last game as an Oiler.”
Defenseman Connor Murphy Wants to Return to Oilers
Veteran defenseman Connor Murphy was asked if he wants to return to the Oilers after joining the team in a mid-season trade from the Chicago Blackhawks, and he said that he absolutely would re-sign wth the team.
“Yeah, I do (want to come back). I had a great experience, and I don’t have anything bad to say,” Murphy said. “I’m grateful to be here, and hopefully to continue that.”
Veteran Jason Dickinson Also Wants Back in Edmonton
Jason Dickinson, who was also acquired from the Blackhawks in a separate trade, expressed that he, too, would like to return to Edmonton next year. He also confirmed that he was playing with significant injuries during the Oilers’ playoff run.
“Yeah, it was fantastic. I loved playing here. The crowd is amazing, the organization treats you fantastic, the city feels like home. I was saying to my wife, it kinda feels like we’re just driving around home and playing hockey, everything feels so natural. I love it here, and it’s something I’d be willing to talk to them about and get it moving,” Dickinson said.
With several key free agents to sign and many holes in the roster, it will be interesting to see how Oilers GM Stan Bowman navigates things this offseason as the team tries to bounce back from a disappointing end to this year and make another Stanley Cup run next season.
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