Trade for Connor Ingram about adding depth to Oilers organization

The Edmonton Oilers have addressed their goaltending situation. Well, kind of.

It wasn’t a flashy move to acquire an elite netminder, or one with a track record of big games, but instead one to add depth to their organization, Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said Wednesday.

In acquiring Connor Ingram from the Utah Mammoth for future considerations, the team is bolstering their shakiest position.

“The way we look at it is this is a great depth option for us,” said Bowman. “And I think whether it’s injuries or whether it’s the play of our team, it’s nice to know that we have someone in our organization that have some recent success in the NHL.”

Ingram, 28, has four years of NHL experience under his belt, drawing in for 102 games with the Nashville Predators, Arizona Coyotes and Utah Mammoth, posting a 29-34-11 record, .907 save percentage and a 3.08 goals against average. The numbers don’t jump off the board, and after missing training camp and the pre-season, Ingram will take some time to get up to speed.

In search of a fresh start, the Oilers see what could be significant upside.

“When he’s playing well and he’s on top of his game, we know he can be a really good goaltender,” said Bowman. “We got to help him get back to that point. I know he’s excited for a fresh start.

“He’s going to be in Bakersfield, and then we’ll just take it from there. He could be there for the whole season. We don’t know. So the plan is not to just get him up to speed and then bring him to Edmonton. We want to have it as a good depth opportunity for us.

“The play of our goalies and the play of our team, as well as his play, will dictate where it goes.”

While the addition of Ingram helps improve the organizational depth, it doesn’t mean the Oilers won’t continue to examine the market. If there’s a “surefire improvement” on any of the three goaltenders of NHL-calibre — Stuart Skinner, Calvin Pickard and Ingram — Bowman said he wouldn’t rule out another move.

At the very least, it opens up options now and into the future, as all three will be unrestricted free agents come next summer.

“We haven’t talked to them about extensions, not to say that we won’t,” said Bowman of Skinner and Pickard’s status. “Sometimes that goes both ways where you get a real motivated goalie and you get them wanting to prove that they’re the guy for the future.

“So now we’ve essentially got three guys in that boat in the last year of their contract. And we’ll have to sort that out over the next 10 months, what we’re going to do with our goal tending. But for now, that’s not something we’re looking at.”