Oilers' Ingram Could Unseat Pickard As The Team's Backup Goaltender

The Edmonton Oilers looked to have solved their goaltending issues with the trade of former Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry earlier this month.

However, Jarry suffered an injury on Thursday against the Boston Bruins, and on Friday, Edmonton put Jarry on Injured Reserve. With that, they recalled veteran Connor Ingram from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors.  How Ingram responds to the challenge could be the difference between him returning to the AHL or replacing Calvin Pickard as Edmonton’s backup.

Jarry is clearly going to be the No. 1 option in net for the Oilers as he's won his first three games since being acquired by GM Stan Bowman.

Jarry’s injury isn’t severe enough to have him placed on long-term injured reserve, which means the earliest he can return to action is Dec. 27 against the Calgary Flames. But that still leaves Edmonton’s next three games to play without Jarry.

Pickard will be projected to start in two of those three games. But, given that the Oilers are slated to play back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday against the Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights, you have to figure that Ingram could play one of those two games.

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This will be a big opportunity for Ingram if he gets a chance to make an appearance during Jerry's absence. The 28-year-old has spent all of his time this year in the American League.

Ingram has struggled at the AHL level this season, posting a 4.04 goals-against average and an .856 save percentage in 11 appearances.

He hasn’t played an NHL game since Feb. 22 as a member of the Utah Mammoth. His NHL totals last season – including an .882 SP and 3.27 GAA – are hardly the stuff you want to see from your netminder.

Ingram only played 22 games last season as he entered the NHL and NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program on March 9. He was cleared to return to action in August ahead of this season.

When you look at Pickard’s stats this season, a 3-4-2 record, .858 SP and a 3.91 GAA – it’s clear why Ingram could have an opening to make the No. 2 goalie role in Edmonton his own.

If Ingram plays well and Pickard continues to put up sub-par numbers, there is a real case for Ingram to be Jarry’s backup when he returns to action.

Pickard is in the final year of his contract, earning $1 million per season, while Ingram's deal is also expiring at a pro-rated $1.5-million salary.

The Oilers had enough salary cap space to call up Ingram, so if it turns out that Ingram is playing better than Pickard, it could be as simple as Pickard being waived and demoted to the minors. 

Is It Hard To Be An Edmonton Oilers Goalie? Will It Be Tough For Tristan Jarry? Tristan Jarry returns to an Edmonton market that looks to get to a third-straight Cup final appearance. But for a team that's searched for stable goaltending for years, is it difficult to play there?

It's a business, as they say, and the goaltending business is cut-and-dried. If a goaltender performs well enough to give his team a chance to win, they're going to get more opportunities to do so.

When they struggle, their team is going to give opportunities to someone else. So Ingram has a golden opportunity to cement a role back at the NHL level. Should he perform well, a tandem of Jarry and Ingram could be what Edmonton goes with for the rest of the regular season and the Stanley Cup playoffs.

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