MTPS: The Fantastic Mr. Fox

"One man can make a difference..."

Truer words have never been spoken as it applies to the New York Rangers and to Adam Fox.

I'm as big a critic of Jeff Gorton and his trades as anyone. But credit where credit is due: The man made two wonderful trades. The first was acquiring Mika Zibanejad from the Ottawa Senators, and the second was acquiring the rights to Adam Fox from the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Rangers were certainly having their issues with Adam Fox in the lineup, but they were playing more solid hockey from the blueline. When Fox was in the lineup for the first 27 games of the season, the Rangers maintained a disciplined defensive profile. Without him, they quickly became one of the league's most vulnerable teams. 

• With Fox in the lineup, the Rangers were first in the league in terms of limiting high-danger chances. Without him, they've slipped to 21st.
• With Fox in the lineup, the Rangers were allowing 2.63 goals per game. Without him, they're allowing 3.68 goals per game. (It's worth pointing out that the absence of Igor Shesterkin is likely also a contributing factor to that change.)
• With Adam Fox, the Rangers power play was operating at about 21 percent. Without him, they're closer to 15 percent.
• Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov made up one of the most prolific defensive pairs in the NHL when they were together, producing an xGF% of nearly 60 percent. With Fox on the shelf and Gavrikov forced to drag Braden Schneider up and down the ice, that number has dropped to 44 percent.

Want more? OK, I'll give you more.

• Of all the players taken in the 2016 Entry Draft, Adam Fox ranks eighth in points scored with 397.
• That would be impressive on its own, but Fox has only played in 461 games. Patrik Laine has played in the next fewest at 537.
• Adam Fox is also the only defenseman on that list. Mikhail Sergachev is next on the list with 348 (in over 600 games played)

So, yeah, Adam Fox isn't the biggest, and he's not the fastest. But he's an elite player who makes everyone he plays with better. If he were to spend his entire career with the New York Rangers he would probably challenge Brian Leetch's record for points by a Rangers defenseman.

These are hard times for the Rangers, and these are harder truths for the haters.

But this is not about trying to convince you that Adam Fox is elite. By now you either recognize his greatness or you don't. If you don't, then the rest of this column is really going to chap your ass.

This column is about whether or not the New York Rangers—as they currently stand—would be better off trading Adam Fox.

Look, as I wrote here, I do believe the Rangers are not too far off from getting back into the playoffs and if a playoff birth is the goal, then reuniting a healthy Adam Fox with Gavrikov is a foundational part of that plan. That being said, if the goal is to really rebuild and not just retool, then dealing Adam Fox is something that should not only be considered, but embraced.

Now, before we go any deeper into this, let us channel our buddy SteveM, who is reading this and feverishly prepared to post in the comment section, "You do not get better by trading your best player." He's not wrong. If you trade Adam Fox you're not committing to the retool that Chris Drury (or ChatGPT) wrote about, but instead to a full-on, tear-it-to-the-studs rebuild.

So, you're probably asking yourself, "Chip, if you believe the Rangers could be back in the playoffs next year, why would you give that up?" The answer is simple. While I believe the Rangers could make the playoffs, I also agree with what Joe wrote, that this team is rotten to the core. Phil Kocher also highlighted an interview with The Athletic's Vince Mercogliano that paints a far less rosy picture than the one that I see.

I don't think there's anyone who thinks Adam Fox is part of the culture of toxicity that has enveloped the Rangers. But if the situation is as dire as Vince particularly believes, then the likelihood of the Rangers being good again before Adam Fox hits his 30th birthday is very slim. What's more, the odds of the Rangers being good before Fox's contract expires are thin, and so the odds of him sticking around are thin. What's more, being snubbed for Team USA when his head coach and general manager are two of the key voices in roster building probably doesn't make Fox any happier. And then there's this:

Yeah, Mike Sullivan basically just called Adam Fox soft. That's not going to help rebuild that relationship.

So, with that being the case, with three years remaining on a contract that pays him a very reasonable $9.5 million per year, the time for trading Adam Fox may be here, while he's in his prime, and before the Rangers are up against a wall. This isn't an Artemi Panarin situation where Drury would be forced to take the best offer on the table or risk losing the player for nothing. Whether Fox demands a trade or Drury asks him for a list of teams, Fox would need to agree to multiple potential destinations or else Drury can (and should) simply say, "we'll wait."

Make no mistake, if Drury is able to get Fox on board with multiple potential destinations, the list of teams that would do dirty things for Adam Fox is long and the return will be a haul. Two years of Quinn Hughes cost the Minnesota Wild Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren, Zeev Buium, and a 2026 first round pick. The return for three years of Fox should be at least as strong. When looking for a team that is a great fit you're talking about a couple of specific categories:

• Young teams looking to make "the leap"
• Teams that feel they are one player away

In the first category you have the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Seattle Kraken, and Utah Mammoth. In the second category you have pretty much every team currently in the playoff picture. The problem for teams in this second group is that with the exception of maybe a team like the Carolina Hurricanes or Washington Capitals, not many of those squads have the cap flexibility to take on Fox or the prospects to make a Fox deal worth exploring for the Rangers.

Let's look at the second group first. I have absolutely no interest in seeing Adam Fox on the Washington Capitals, so I'm dismissing them out of hand. Listen, if they're willing to give up Ryan Leonard, Ilya Protas, Lyden Lakovic, and a couple of first round picks, I'm not saying no. I'm just saying that there's going to be a serious premium for trading Fox within the division, especially to a team with Tom Wilson. (Because, fuck that guy.) As for Carolina, I'm also dismissing them. Fox forced his way out of that organization to come to the Rangers, and I don't think he would go to them now.

That brings us to the younger teams looking to add an elite, playmaking defenseman in his prime to a core looking to make the leap into competition. Ottawa's prospect pool is pretty shallow these days, and Montreal has a lot of money tied up in their defense already. Even if Fox were willing to play in Canada, the fits are less than ideal. I have long professed my admiration for some of the players in the Utah system and a deal built around Cole Beaudoin, Tij Iginla, and Maveric Lamoureux plus draft picks would certainly pique my interest. With Seattle he could reunite with old running buddy Ryan Lindgren and, who knows, maybe he would find that appealing. Seattle has been said to be dangling Shane Wright, and I do find Wright interesting, but he would not be nearly enough. No, for me this comes down to two teams, and Utah and Seattle are not them.

Fox has a complete no movement clause for another year (it becomes a 16 team no-trade list after the 2026-27 season). For the purposes of this column, we will (as always) assume that the teams identified are ones he would be willing to play for.