Ex-Predators Goalie Flourishing After Waiver Claim

Originally posted on FanNation Inside The Preds
By Rob Couch | Last updated 3/10/24

The Nashville Predators develop goalies well. There were many years of Pekka Rinne showing that he was one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL and he passed that on to Juuse Saros. The goalie of the future has almost arrived as well in Yaroslav Askarov. But in the middle of all of that, there was Connor Ingram.

The Predators didn't draft Ingram, but they did acquire him fairly early in his career from the Tampa Bay Lightning. He proved himself in back-to-back seasons with the Lightning's AHL affiliate, Syracuse Crunch, which made the trade that only cost the Predators a seventh-round pick shocking even for that time.

Ingram just kept developing, even taking his game to a whole new level in the Predators organization for the Milwaukee Admirals, recording a .933 SV% in his first season. Fast forward two years later to the 2019-20 season and Ingram got to experience the NHL for the first time, actually being thrown into the fire in the playoffs for four games after only three regular season games under his belt. He handled himself very well and gave the Predators a chance, posting a .913 SV%. This was all after playing 54 games in the AHL with a .915 SV% as well.

You would have thought that this trial run that Ingram was forced into would have resulted in him earning a backup role to Saros, but Ingram was instead waived and picked up by the Arizona Coyotes.

In less than two seasons, Ingram has taken over as the starter in Arizona and is tied for the league lead in shutouts this season with six alongside Tristan Jarry of the Pittsburgh Penguins. To realize just how impressive that is, the Coyotes rank 27th in the league in points and 24th in the league in goals against per game (3.30).

Not only was Ingram one of the driving forces for the Coyotes' strong early season play, he is on a three-year, $1.95 million AAV deal. While it is nothing against Kevin Lankinen who has a .908 SV% and no shutouts over the past two seasons, Ingram has a .909 SV% and seven shutouts, plus his SV% has been .907 or above both years. Lankinen, despite the incredible game he played in the Predators' previous win, has a .897 SV% on the season.

Ingram is the one who got away for Nashville, and it doesn't make it better than it was through waivers and he could have been having the season he's having for the Predators behind Saros. It would've eased more pressure and helped pick up the slack when there were struggles. The only problem is that the Predators would have had to trade him sooner than later if he was still in town because there's just no room with Saros and Askarov.