The Curious Case of Connor Ingram
INSIDE AHL HOCKEY HQ -- A strange situation developing in Syracuse over the past week took another interesting turn Wednesday when the Tampa Bay Lightning reassigned goaltender Connor Ingram from their AHL affiliate in Syracuse to their ECHL affiliate in Orlando.
While it doesn't seem suspicious on the surface, a deeper dive into the situation leaves many questions left to be answered.
Ingram leads the entire American Hockey League (AHL) with six shutouts this season, his .922 save percentage is also tops in the league and his 2.26 goals-against average is second in the league only to Bakersfield's Shane Starrett (2.19 GAA).
So the question begs to be answered. Is Ingram in the doghouse with the organization, and if so what has he done to prompt Tampa Bay to remove him from a heated AHL playoff race that Syracuse is currently knees deep in in the North Division?
Ingram hasn't played since February 26th, and even that appearance was in relief of starter Eddie Pasquale who left the game due to an illness he had been trying to battle through earlier that week leading up to the game that night.
Syracuse Crunch head coach Ben Groulx told Inside AHL Hockey and Syracuse.com after the Crunch's Friday night 4-0 win over Lehigh Valley that Ingram was healthy, although Crunch beat reporter Lindsay Kramer had to ask Groulx about Ingram's health a second time to get the confirmation.
"We have three goalies here," Groulx said after the March 1 game when Ingram, Eddie Pasquale and Martin Ouellette were all on the roster. "We decide one game at a time. We'll talk about it tomorrow and we'll see who's playing tomorrow."
But, Ingram is healthy right?
"Everybody's healthy."
Pasquale, who earned the shutout Friday, had started six straight games before Ouellette backstopped the Crunch with a 36-save effort in a 4-1 win in Rochester Sunday.
Futhermore, Mark Divver of The Providence Journal reported Wednesday afternoon that an NHL source informed him Ingram was made available by Tampa Bay at the trade deadline "for a pick - and not a high one."
With Ingram reassigned to the ECHL's Orlando Solar Bears, goaltender Martin Ouellette re-joined AHL Syracuse in a subsequent move Wednesday afternoon.
