Connor Ingram’s name should be drawing more buzz in free agency than it is.
The former Edmonton Oilers goaltender is still without a contract, even though his numbers stack up well against the other unrestricted free-agent netminders available this summer. There was even chatter that the Ottawa Senators could be one of the teams to circle him as an option, but nothing has materialized there or anywhere else.
That silence is what makes this situation stand out. For a player who could look like a bargain, the market has been strangely quiet.
On Sports 1440, of In Goal Magazine said he was surprised Ingram still hadn’t landed a deal. He pointed to the possibility that some teams may be factoring in that Ingram has "been in the program on that side of it", and simply aren’t interested.
That reference is to the Players Assistance Program, which Ingram entered twice. The first came in 2021 with the Nashville Predators, when he sought treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related alcohol use. The second was on March 9, 2025, while he was with Utah, after his mother died of breast cancer.
It may not be fair, and it may not be right, but Woodley raised the question of whether some clubs have reservations because of that history.
He said he did not think the Oilers were among them. Edmonton’s focus, he said, was more on Ingram’s playoff performance and his numbers. That helped push the team in a different direction, leading them to acquire Devon Levi via trade and Frederik Andersen through free agency.
Even so, the bigger picture remains the same: Ingram is still unsigned, and that looks less like a money issue than a market issue. A lot of teams already have their goaltending plans in place.
For the clubs that don’t, though, Ingram could still end up being one of the better value plays left on the board. If he has to settle for a one-year, show-me deal at a discount, it could be the kind of move that pays off in a big way.
The Oilers got plenty out of him. Another team may be able to do the same if it believes a motivated Ingram is ready to prove something.
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What makes the chatter worth watching is the price tag and the timing, because this is the kind of deal that would force Edmonton to part with real assets while also depending on Nashvilles willingness to reshape its own direction. The Predators have been linked to a broader reset, and if they decide to lean into that next chapter, the Oilers could find themselves in the middle of one of the summers most consequential trade discussions. [Read more 🡒]