On Wednesday (Aug. 20), the NHLPA and the NHL announced that Connor Ingram has been cleared by the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program to return to the NHL.
The clearing means Ingram will return to the Utah Mammoth for the first time since March. It’s great news for both Ingram and the Mammoth, but it does create an even bigger question mark around the team’s goaltending rotation for the upcoming season.
Ingram Is Back in Utah
It all started in November when Ingram was placed on injured reserve. Utah deemed it an upper-body injury, and Ingram didn’t make another appearance until January. It was then revealed that his mother had passed away in December due to cancer, which caused him to stay away from the team longer than expected.
Ingram returned to Utah after playing a game in the American Hockey League with the Tucson Roadrunners. In his return game against the New York Islanders, after a loud applause from the crowd when announced as the starter for the game, Ingram put up an impressive .938 save percentage (SV%) in the midst of a 2-1 loss.
Connor Ingram gets a decently loud applause after being announced as the starter tonight vs the Islanders. #UtahHC pic.twitter.com/nBcYdPwC8B
— Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) January 12, 2025
However, something was still wrong as Ingram’s stats kept declining and Karel Vejmelka started playing more games. It led to Ingram checking himself into the Player Assistance Program for the second time in his career in March.
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Throughout the time away, Ingram’s teammates and fans supported him from Salt Lake City. Fans made letters of appreciation and support that were eventually sent to him. His teammates and coaches made sure to vocally show their support for their goaltender when they were asked about the situation.
Ingram put out a statement when he entered the program, stating that he wouldn’t be back until he was 100% healthy. With his clearance and return to the Mammoth, the goaltender must feel like he’s ready to be back in the NHL and play consistently. Maybe even beyond the level he did back in 2023-24 when he recorded a .907 SV% on a rebuilding Arizona Coyotes team, winning the Bill Masterton Trophy alongside his impressive season.
What Is the Mammoth’s Goaltending Rotation Looking Like?
With Ingram now back in the fold, the Mammoth now have five NHL-caliber goaltenders who will battle it out for the two spots on the NHL roster. General manager Bill Armstrong did mention he anticipated an abundance of healthy competition at training camp this fall. Now, he’ll have that with his goaltenders.
The Mammoth have five goaltenders signed who have played NHL games: Ingram, Vejmelka, Matt Villalta, Jaxson Stauber, and Vitek Vaněček. The team also has Anson Thornton signed, but after a disappointing season with the ECHL’s Allen Americans, it’s looking less likely that he’ll be around the organization for much longer.
In the offseason, Armstrong re-signed Stauber and brought in Vaněček. He mentioned uncertainty around Ingram and his return date as a big reason why he made sure his goaltending position was well stocked up.
Looking at the five, Stauber and Villalta will most likely be back in the AHL with the Roadrunners. While both players had great games in the 2024-25 season with Utah, it’s just not likely for them to beat out the three NHL-experienced goaltenders for a spot on the roster. However, Stauber could really make those three work hard for their roster spots. He had an impressive playoff run with the Roadrunners and has shown flashes of brilliance at the NHL level.
Then it comes down to Ingram, Vejmelka, and Vaněček. Vejmelka will more than likely be the Mammoth’s starter on opening night. After Ingram went into the Player Assistance Program, he started every single game for Utah except the second-to-last game of the season when Villalta got his first NHL start of the season.
Vejmelka also just got a big extension after a great 26-win, .904 SV% season. He’s being paid like the starter, and with his extensive play last season, he’ll probably get that role unless something crazy happens in training camp.
Vaněček is coming off a Stanley Cup championship with the Florida Panthers, though he didn’t appear in a single playoff game. He also struggled throughout the season with both the Panthers and the San Jose Sharks. Vaněček hasn’t had a season with a SV% above .900 since the 2022-23 season with the New Jersey Devils, where he had 33 wins. Maybe another change in scenery will help, or maybe the pressure of potentially being close to being out of the NHL will get him back to that level.
The biggest question mark is obviously Ingram. From what we know, he hasn’t played hockey since the end of February. How is he going to fare in training camp? Can he get back to the level of competitiveness that we saw from him in Arizona? It honestly wouldn’t be surprising if he plays the most preseason games out of the five aforementioned goaltenders, and even potentially a couple of games in the AHL to try to get him back into the NHL routine.
As of right now, the Mammoth will most likely rock with a three-goaltender rotation with Vejmelka playing the most games. It’s not something that’s unheard of. The Seattle Kraken did it back in 2022-23, rotating between Martin Jones, Phillip Grubauer, and Joey Daccord, even making the playoffs and beating out the defending Stanley Cup champions Colorado Avalanche, in the first round.
However, if it needs to happen, the Mammoth can move out a goaltender. It’s a position that a team is always looking to improve. It could land the team some assets as well. For now, though, it looks like with Ingram’s return, the battle for goaltending spots will certainly be one to watch in training camp in September.
