Demoting Connor Ungar sends wrong message to Edmonton Oilers prospects
Edmonton Oilers prospect goalie Connor Ungar was reassigned to the ECHL on Monday afternoon, and it doesn’t feel like the right move.
Ungar was one of the biggest stories in the Oilers organization over the last few months. He was called up to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors in December after Connor Ingram got the call to join the Oilers.
Since then, the 24-year-old goaltender erupted with a stellar 9-2-1 record and a sparkling .926 save percentage. For the first time in ages, it felt like the Oilers had stumbled onto a diamond in the rough, and Ungar was showing potential to be a serious NHL call-up option as soon as next season.
It’d make all the sense in the world to keep him in the AHL to continue his development, but that came to a sudden end on Monday. Rather than keep him developing in the AHL, the team opted to demote him to the ECHL to make room for a Condors tandem of Matt Tomkins and Calvin Pickard.
TRANSACTION: the @EdmontonOilers have reassigned Connor Ungar to @OrlandoHockey #Condorstown pic.twitter.com/01eMBpvI2B
— Bakersfield Condors (@Condors) February 23, 2026
On the surface, the move makes sense from a business standpoint. Both Pickard and Tomkins are veterans with NHL experience, which, on paper, means they should be in the AHL over a guy like Ungar. Yet, things fall apart when you start to look at the larger picture.
The Oilers are in a position where they can’t afford to hinder the development of their prospects. Their contending status has led to a shortage of high draft picks in recent years, which has made it harder to insert high-impact prospects into the farm system. When a player shows promise, they should do everything in their power to nurture it, not hinder it.
Ungar was an unexpected player who got his chance and did everything in his power to make the most of it. There is no question that he was the best goalie on the Condors during that time, and, unlike Tomkins and Pickard, it appears he may actually have a future in the organization past this season.
Tomkins is a journeyman goaltender in his 30s who hasn’t found consistent NHL time and has mixed AHL results, while Pickard lost his job with the Oilers and is fresh off clearing waivers. It only makes sense to keep one of those goalies in the AHL, but keeping both doesn’t do anything for the organization.
It should be noted that neither Pickard nor Tomkins can be assigned to the ECHL without their consent, which they are unlikely to give at this point in their careers. That, however, was not the only option available.
A minor league trade involving either goalie could not have been that hard a thing to pull off for GM Stan Bowman. Both goalies should have some value and would come at a bargain bin price point. Now, the Oilers are stuck with two aging goalies in the AHL while their one promising prospect is two levels away from the NHL.
It’s as if the Oilers are actively harming their own development program for no reason other than placating two veteran goalies, one of whom is likely to walk into free agency this summer, while the other won’t sniff the NHL this year. There is nothing to be gained from this situation.
Good work from young players should be rewarded in this organization, now more than ever, and this move sends the wrong message to Oilers prospects.