- Connor Ingram has been a free agent since July 1 and still has no contract
- Elvis Merzlikins’ shoulder surgery cracked open a backup job in Columbus
- Read below for the two other teams Carter Hutton named as fits
Connor Ingram has spent 54 days on the open market. A shoulder injury in Columbus might be the thing that ends it.
The 29-year-old goaltender was starting playoff games for Edmonton in April and has not signed anywhere since free agency opened July 1. Brennan McClain of Pro Hockey Rumors ran through what is left for him this weekend and landed on one realistic destination: the Blue Jackets, who lost Elvis Merzlikins indefinitely to shoulder surgery last week.
Merzlikins felt discomfort during offseason workouts, an MRI sent him to the operating table, and Columbus has not attached a timetable to his return. Pheonix Copley signed on as a third-stringer this summer, but Ingram would walk in with far fresher NHL work.
Money is the catch. The Blue Jackets are carrying roughly $12 million in space and still have to get Adam Fantilli signed. Even moving Merzlikins to long-term injured reserve would not free up enough to offer Ingram much past the league minimum.
Carter Hutton went east instead. The former NHL goaltender was asked on Daily Faceoff LIVE which club ends up with Ingram, and he came back with two.
“Pittsburgh is a team I think that needs some depth, and the other one for me that I kind of landed on just looking at the rosters and kind of knowing where goalies are in the template is the Ottawa Senators.”
Catch Hutton sorting through the moves nobody has made yet:
The résumé is not the problem. Ingram went 16-10-3 with a .899 save percentage and a 2.60 goals-against average in 32 games for the Oilers, won the crease outright down the stretch and drew the start for the first round against Anaheim. Daily Faceoff had him graded the best goalie left on the market in early August, and nothing has changed since.
Edmonton is off the board. The Oilers added Frederik Andersen and Devon Levi over the summer and already had Tristan Jarry on the books.
Ingram was asked about his contract at Edmonton’s exit interviews in May, months before any of this shook out.
“I really enjoyed my time here. I’d love to be back. I pay a guy to have these conversations for me, so I know we waited until the end of the year.”
Here is the full availability:
Training camps open in about three weeks. Columbus is the only one of the three teams with a crease that actually came open.
