The Edmonton Oilers have a big summer ahead of them. Not only do they need to convince one of the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, or Pittsburgh Penguins to trade for Darnell Nurse, but they also need to settle their goaltender situation. While Tristan Jarry is under contract, the other member of their tandem, Connor Ingram, is not. Unfortunately, the latest Oilers has them at odds with the Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres, and other teams trying to add a goaltender.
It’s a messy situation for the Oilers. They were linked to the young Sebastian Cossa before he was traded by the Detroit Red Wings. Luckily, there are plenty of young goaltenders around the league that could fill a similar role for the Oilers (Devon Levi & Michael DiPietro, to name a couple).
Oilers fans took a liking to Ingram. However, it looks increasingly likely that he will move on. Here is the latest on Ingram (and a former Oilers goalie) as the Oilers head into the opening of free agency.
Edmonton Oilers Goalie Connor Ingram Linked to Florida Panthers & Ottawa Senators
To complicate matters for the Oilers, Heavy Sports reports that Ingram is drawing interest from two teams.
While it’s not a surprise that the Ottawa Senators are interested, the Panthers’ interest is certainly surprising. The team currently has Sergei Bobrovsky and Danil Tarasov before their contracts expire on June 30th. However, there is no indication that a deal is imminent for either player with the Panthers.
As mentioned in the above report, the Senators recently acquired Samuel Ersson. This makes signing Ingram in Ottawa less likely (but not impossible).
In 32 games for the Oilers, Ingram posted a 16-10-3 record to go along with a 2.60 Goals Against Average (GAA), a .899 Save Percentage (SV%), +1.7 Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx), and two shutouts.
Ingram is Not the Only Current or Former Oilers Goalie Catching Their Eye
Now, the other thing to catch in this report is the Panthers’ interest in Stuart Skinner. While this may be surprising to some, it makes sense.
Skinner is a 6-foot-4, 27-year-old goaltender. For all intents and purposes, he has yet to reach his prime. His primary struggle has been consistency. If he can be paired with a team that excels at drawing out consistent performances from their netminders, that’s the ideal place for him.
Additionally, it’s a poor free agency class as far as goaltenders go. There are no clear starters, with Frederik Andersen and Skinner arguably being the best goalies available in free agency.
Skinner finished the season with a +8.3 GSAx. That has him ranked 21st among all NHL goalies that played at least 20 games during the season.
No matter which way the cookie crumbles this offseason, Ingram and Skinner are going to be two names to look out for in free agency. Because of the lack of legitimate starting options, they could be two netminders who find decent pay raises on quality teams looking for good goaltending.
Buckle up, Oilers fans; it could be a long summer. Especially if the Panthers, a bitter rival, pick up one of these goalies.
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