Rangers Shuffle Roster as Adam Fox Injury Casts Uncertainty Over Blue Line

The New York Rangers made a series of roster moves on Sunday, headlined by an injury to star defenseman Adam Fox that is expected to sideline him for an extended period.

The team also reassigned goaltender Dylan Garand to Hartford and recalled veteran Spencer Martin who was recently signed to the Wolf Pack.

The move of Martin for Garand raises some eyebrows, but as Blueshirt Banter contributor Phil Kocher points out, with the team off until Thursday, this amounts to more of a paper transaction with the hope that Jonathan Quick will be able to resume his backup duties by then. If not, after several days off, it's a safe bet that Igor Shesterkin would be in net for Thursday's game anyway. This move will allow Garand to get back into games down in Hartford rather than spend a second week sitting around.

The more impactful story is obviously the injury to Adam Fox, which occurred on this play in Saturday's game against Tampa Bay.

The hit from fellow 2016 draft pick Brandon Hagel was clean, hard, and unfortunate. Fox, paired with 2025 free agent signee, Vladislav Gavrikov had been one of—if not the—best defensemen in the NHL thus far this season.

Leaving the Olympic implications aside and focusing solely on how this impacts the Rangers; there has been no word on how they will replace Fox in the lineup, but the best guess is that Scott Morrow will draw back in and get an extended look. This could also represent an opportunity for Braden Schneider to move up to playing first pair minutes with Gavrikov and also getting time on the first power play unit in Fox's place. Such a move could go a long way to determining whether or not Schneider has a future within the Rangers' organization beyond this year.

While someone will fill his spot, no one will replace what Fox has brought to the lineup thus far this season as he has been absolutely elite on both sides of the ice. While this absolutely is devastating for the team on the ice, it may help add some clarity for Chris Drury off of it. The team has been elite on the road and terrible at home leading to a firmly mediocre record overall. They're competing for a spot at the back of the playoffs but have lacked anything resembling consistency throughout the season. The last thing they could afford is a long term injury to one of their star players yet that's exactly what they have here. We've long debated whether Drury should add pieces to try and get this team over the hump or sell off some of his impending free agents (and others) in an attempt to retool for the 2026/27 season. The loss of Fox for an extended period may help nudge Drury in the direction of selling.

For the haters who have repeatedly lampooned Adam Fox and wanted him off this team because he's not the fastest or most physical player in the NHL, well, you're about to get a glimpse of what it looks like when you don't have Adam Fox on the Rangers: Buckle up buttercup because it's going to be a bumpy ride.