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Why Rangers Must Count on Healthy, Big Season from Adam Fox
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- Why Rangers Must Count on Healthy, Big Season from Adam Fox
The New York Rangers ' retool is in full swing with a flurry of offseason moves to help maximize the prime years of their stars, namely top defenseman Adam Fox and franchise goalie Igor Shesterkin . But more than anything, the Rangers need Fox and Shesterkin to be fully healthy and on top of their games in 2026-27 in order to get back into the playoffs.
Shesterkin is 30 and still considered to be one of the best goaltenders in the world. So, even though he missed 13 games due to a lower-body injury last season, there's less concern about him this coming season.
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Fox, though, is a different story. He hasn't played more than 74 games in any of the past three seasons, and last year was limited to 55 games due to a pair of extended injury absences. He did average just about a point per game with 53 points (nine goals, 44 assists); but much of his season was overshadowed by not making the U.S. Olympic roster, especially with Rangers general manager Chris Drury , head coach Mike Sullivan , assistant David Quinn, and teammates Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller winning gold with Team USA in Milan.
The 28-year-old faced criticism for being too slow and too small, not to mention being called out for his subpar play at the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025. But he continued to be an invaluable player for the Rangers, even when Fox was noncommittal about his future in New York due to the retool plan announced by Drury in January.
Despite all that, Fox remains the anchor of the Rangers blue line and is a crucial piece to their hoped-for turnaround in 2026-27.
Adam Fox might be most irreplaceable skater on Rangers roster
Though it feels like he's an overlooked star in the NHL these days, Fox is one of the elite two-way defensemen in the League. He drives the offense, is trusted in his own end, plays heavy minutes, and has high hockey IQ.. As the quarterback of the power play, Fox helped the Rangers finish fifth in the NHL , converting at 24.7 percent. Despite missing 27 games last season, Fox tied Mika Zibanejad for the team-lead with 44 assists .
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The greatest testament to Fox's value is that the Rangers were 8-16-3 in games he didn't play in 2025-26.
The knockout punch to their season was delivered in early January when Fox sustained his second injury, and in the same game that Shesterkin went down, sending the Rangers on a 2-11-0 stretch and plummeting to the bottom of the Eastern Conference .
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With Fox on the ice, all primary analytics improve for the Rangers. Two glaring examples are a 12.9 percent increase in expected goal-for rate and a substantial 16.2 percent increase in their high-danger scoring chances ratio 5v5. Put simply, New York had a minus 14-goal difference without the 2021 Norris Trophy Winner, and plus-11 with him, according to Natural Stat Trick .
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At the end of the season, New York's second straight missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Sullivan lamented the lack of play-drivers and skilled puck-movers and distributors on the back end, outside of Fox. So, Drury went to work in the offseason bolstering that area behind the 2020-21 Norris Trophy winner.
Rangers new-look defense corps should help Adam Fox
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The Rangers upgraded their second defense pair behind Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov , making separate trades to acquire Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson .
Drury landed Durzi in the July 1 trade with the Utah Mammoth for Trocheck . The 27-year-old immediately became the No. 2 right-handed defenseman on the depth chart behind Fox. He played top-four minutes with the Mammoth and Los Angeles Kings in his career, and had 41 points in 2023-24. Last season, he totaled 27 points (five goals, 22 assists) in 60 games.
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Most importantly, Durzi is a skilled, puck-mover, and should take some of the heat off Fox in that area. Plus, he's a perfect fit to quarterback the second power-play unit.
Pettersson is a stay-at-home defenseman who will pair with Durzi and be matched up against top-six forwards, and be a key contributor to the penalty kill. The 30-year-old also is a steady puck-moving blueliner who has familiarity with Sullivan, having played seven seasons under him with the Pittsburgh Penguins .
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With Gavrikov and Pettersson on the left side and Fox and Durzi on the right, the Rangers possess a significant upgrade in their top four on the defense corps to help bring out the best in Shesterkin. Braden Schneider , a solid penalty killer who struggled when filling in on the top pair 5v5 when Fox was out injured last season, is back on the third pair. He'll play alongside either Alberts Smits , the No. 5 overall pick in this year's draft, Matthew Robertson , Urho Vaakanainen , or Drew Fortescue .
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Although they only played 55 games together last season, Fox and Gavrikov proved to be a perfect fit and one of the League's best top pairs.
Among the 70 pairings that played at least 400 minutes together at even strength, Fox and Gavrikov ranked third with an expected goals rate of 58.49 percent and fourth in the NHL with 1.72 goals allowed per 60 minutes. At breakup day last season, Fox heaped praise on his partner
"Defensively, he's just steady," Fox said. "I think that's the biggest thing. I play my best when I can read off someone and know where they're going to be, and they're predictable. I was really happy with how we played and how quickly we formed a good pair."
No disrespect to Fox's former longtime partner Ryan Lindgren , but Gavrikov is a superior player and should continue to bring out the absolute best in Fox next season. And maybe then Fox will once again be considered in the same league as top NHL defenders like Cale Makar , Quinn Hughes , and reigning Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski .
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With a revamped defense corps and a fully healthy season, Fox just may break out in 2026-27 and the Rangers should have a much better chance to make a return to the playoffs.
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