Edmonton Oilers GM Bowman explains reason behind Ingram trade
Connor Ingram is the newest Edmonton Oilers goalie, but why did GM Stan Bowman make the move now?
The 2025-26 NHL regular season is set to begin on Oct. 8, and the team has seemingly been content with its goaltending up to this point. There were next to no legitimate rumours connecting the Oilers to a goalie trade over the summer, and Bowman stated multiple times that he had full trust in Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard to hold it down.
So, what led the team to make the trade for Ingram? Bowman met with the media on Wednesday morning and gave some insight into why he made the move.
“This is a great depth option for us,” Bowman said. “Whether it’s injuries or the play of our team, it’s nice to know that we have someone in our organization that’s had some recent success in the NHL.
“When he’s playing well and he’s on top of his game, we know he can be a really good goaltender.”
"When heās playing well & heās on top of his game he can be a really good goaltender."
GM Stan Bowman speaks with the media following the #Oilers acquisition of Connor Ingram.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/9bpV678uU6
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 1, 2025
Ingram appeared in just 22 NHL games with Utah last season and had to take a leave to enter the league’s player assistance program. The Saskatchewan native lost his mother to breast cancer last season and has a history of battling with OCD.
He is now out of the program and is looking to return to the standard he set in the 2023-24 season, where he posted a .908 SV% and an 8.3 GSAx in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes.
Bowman confirmed that Ingram will start the season with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.
“He’s not been in training camp right now, so we need to get him going and up to speed,” Bowman said. “We’ll take it from there. There is no set program. He could be [in the AHL] for the whole season. The plan is not to just get him up to speed and bring him to Edmonton.
“The play of our goalies, the play of our team, as well as his play, will dictate where it goes.”
Reading between the lines, it feels like Bowman made this move so he can have a legitimate option if either Skinner or Pickard falters during the season. Ingram brings a level of NHL success that none of the other goalies in the Oilers’ system can provide in that case.
Bakersfield will begin its AHL regular season on Oct. 11, and that will likely be the first chance Oilers fans will get a look at their new goaltender.