The New York Rangers struggled to find their footing last season and missed the playoffs just one season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy. They made some moves, including acquiring J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks last season, to prove they were trying to make a push back to the playoffs. They also went and signed defender Vladislav Gavrikov to a long-term, seven-year contract when free agency opened up this summer, and they seem to have the lineup now to make a deep playoff run next season. One player who has seemingly become underrated after a tough campaign for his team is former Norris Trophy winner, Adam Fox.
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There has seemingly been an opinion forming online that Fox has slipped out of the top five in terms of the best overall defensemen in the NHL right now. While Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes are easily the top two over the past several seasons, arguments can be made for who comes up next. Jaccob Slavin, Rasmus Dahlin, and even Zach Werenski have been mentioned as top defenders depending on who you ask, but Fox seems to be slipping, and it makes zero sense.
Fox wasn’t at his best during the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, and that short sample seems to be a key argument used, considering he was playing against some of the world’s best competition, and it didn’t seem like he could keep up. The main issue with that argument is that Fox’s speed has never been his strongest asset, and he was playing against the fastest team ever assembled in Team Canada, but even though he was a step behind, he still looked decent.
Having a rough tournament shouldn’t matter, and it’s not something that should be used to argue why he falls out of the conversation for most elite defenders in the NHL. One small sample size, where there is no chemistry between teammates who are playing against the best competition in the world, is not a deciding factor as to why a player isn’t a top-five defender.
Whether you want to refer back to voters, who consistently consider him when choosing who wins the award for best defender in the NHL, or you want to look at the analytics over the past several seasons, he is an elite defender. Without Fox, the Rangers don’t have good defensive depth, and he is the reason they have a stabilized blue line, despite a slower 2024-25 campaign.
Rangers’ Rough Campaign Played Part in Fox’s Reputation
Let’s put it bluntly: The Rangers were not good last season. A 39-36-7 record and missing the playoffs is not a good follow-up campaign after being the strongest regular season team and making a run to the Conference Final the season prior. That rough campaign played a huge part in why a small percentage of fans didn’t think Fox had a solid season.
Something that has to be acknowledged is Fox’s analytics. While they shouldn’t be used as the be-all, end-all in any argument, they’re important to use here since they do showcase how strong his underlying numbers are, and showcase what the fans may not be able to see with their eye test.
Let’s take a look at something JFreshHockey posted on X last month:
I'm gonna lose my mind. the only way Fox's season "wasn't up to standard" is that he scored a few fewer goals and the team around him sucked more https://t.co/WKNmsJk60J pic.twitter.com/vWn4TFQgVT
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 16, 2025
His opinion is that Fox is still an elite defender, but let’s tackle what the cards he posted say, and as he mentioned, let’s shut down the idea of him having a season that “wasn’t up to standards.”
Fox had a weaker defensive partner last season, who tanked his numbers; he had less offensive production, which can be proof of how bad the team around him was last season, but somehow, he maintained elite analytics at both ends of the ice.
He went from 73 points in the 2023-24 season to 61 points last season, and if you do a deep dive into how bad the Rangers were last season, regardless of why they weren’t a good team, Fox was one of the few bright spots.
Losing confidence heading into the 4 Nations Face-off after a tough start would’ve ruined the on-ice reputation of any player, and sure, having a tough showing against some of the best players in the world is not something that should be overlooked. However, it shouldn’t be valued as highly as some pundits have valued it.
Fox’s Defensive Partners: A Key Factor
Something to consider is how strong Fox’s defensive partner was last season. Looking at some basic advanced statistics, courtesy of MoneyPuck.com, four defenders had more than 50 defensive zone giveaways last season, while two had more than 70. Playing with Ryan Lindgren, who is a horrible defender and was a key reason why his numbers dropped a bit, didn’t help his case whatsoever.
Ryan Lindgren, signed 4x$4.5M by SEA, is a defensive defenceman. He’s pretty mobile, he plays bigger than his frame, he blocks shots, he kills penalties. He also torpedoed Adam Fox's numbers and had the worst results on a good Avs team in the reg season and playoffs. pic.twitter.com/9OkiLID0YN
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 1, 2025
The other big issue is that the Rangers kept moving players around, and Fox lacked a true partner to play alongside and grow solid chemistry with, which caused even more issues. Bringing in Gavrikov, whose numbers at both ends of the ice are incredible, should allow Fox to find some confidence and get back into the conversation to be one of the best defenders in the NHL.
Comparing Him to Other Elite Defenders
The last part of the argument would be, who is he above when talking about the best defenders in the NHL? Last season alone, there were a few players who could’ve been debated as better than Fox, but one bad season doesn’t derail a career. Hughes and Makar have consistently been better and are the two best defensemen in the NHL, and after that, the conversation opens up.
I have always been a huge fan of Slavin, whose defensive mindset is incredible, and his ability to shut down some of the NHL’s biggest stars puts him quite high on my list. Dahlin’s ability to be a superstar on a horrendous Buffalo Sabres team is also impressive, while Miro Heiskanen and Evan Bouchard also deserve to be discussed in the same breath.
However, Fox is a stronger all-around defenseman than Heiskanen, Bouchard, and Werenski. Werenski is solid, but one insane campaign has made him jump up the rankings, just not enough to be considered better than Fox. Heiskanen has been incredible for the Dallas Stars over the past few seasons, but he just misses out on the top five. Bouchard’s offensive dominance and his ability to finally find some strength when he’s playing in his own end have him in the conversation, but he just misses out.
Debates are healthy, and arguments can be made for just about anyone I have listed in this article. Charlie McAvoy is another defender who can be involved in this conversation, and even Josh Morrissey could be included here. I am sure some fans have arguments about other players, but Fox’s analytics, numbers, and overall value to the Rangers make him a top-five defender in the NHL.
One small tournament shouldn’t derail what has been an incredible career for Fox, and when he inevitably finds his footing next season and bounces back into a Norris Trophy candidate, fans will come back around. For one of the most elite defensemen in the NHL to become underrated is ridiculous, and he deserves his respect.
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