NHL Network’s Defensemen Rankings Do Adam Fox a Massive Disservice – The Hockey Writers – New York Rangers

Over the past few weeks, NHL Network has been releasing its list of top 20 players at certain positions heading into this season. Their most recent list was their top 20 defensemen, and one name and one ranking that has gotten a lot of attention is Adam Fox of the New York Rangers. He was ranked 13th on the list, which is up from his previous ranking of 17th heading into last season. This is still far too low for a defenseman who has been one of the best in the league ever since his debut. Why has the perception around Fox changed so much, and what can he do to silence the doubters?

Who Was Ranked Ahead of Fox?

one can make the argument that NHL Network did get the top four of this list correct. The top four defensemen in their eyes are Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Zach Werenski, and Rasmus Dahlin, in that order. It is fair to say that these four players are better than Fox, so that means he should at least be number five on this list, and there should not be eight players ahead of him for that spot. Some names such as Lane Hutson and Evan Bouchard are ranked ahead of him solely for the fact that they can put up a large number of points, not necessarily because they are good all-around defensemen.

Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders is ranked ahead of him after having one of, if not the best, rookie seasons by a defenseman in NHL history. While he did do amazing things in his first campaign, he should not be ranked higher than Fox after one good season. He needs to prove that he can play on that level season after season, just like Fox has done his entire career. Other players like Charlie McAvoy, Jacob Slavin, Moritz Seider, and Miro Heiskanen are ranked higher than him, and while these players are all good in their own right, they don’t mean as much to their teams as Fox means to the Rangers.

Why Is Fox So Underrated?

Since the Rangers have been a bad team over the past two seasons, many who don’t follow them closely think Fox’s game has fallen off as the team has struggled. He did not perform well in the 4 Nations Face-Off last season, which led to him being left off Team USA for the 2026 Winter Olympics. This poor play, along with the Rangers falling off a cliff, has led many to think that he is no longer a top-five defenseman in this league. However, his play — both analytically and with the eye test — says otherwise. Just because the Rangers have been a bad team does not mean Fox is a reason they are bad.

Fox also gets criticized the most because he is not as good a skater as Makar or Hughes, and that he doesn’t score goals or put up points like Werenski and Dahlin. What he lacks in skating and goal scoring, he makes up for by being one of, if not the, smartest player in the NHL today. He can see plays before they happen and can make plays happen that no one would ever expect. While he is not a play driver and won’t skate the puck up the ice quickly, he will make a good first pass and set up his teammates for success. If the Rangers did not have Fox these last two seasons, they would have been even worse.

Fox Can Silence the Doubters This Season

The Rangers are looking to get back to the playoffs this season, and Fox’s play and health are going to be big factors in helping them get there. He missed time last season due to two different injuries, and we saw how the team collapsed without him and Igor Shesterkin, who also missed time due to injury. Now, being back at 100% heading into this season, Fox is going to be relied on once again to be the team’s key defenseman in all situations. If he can stay healthy and the rest of the moves the team made this offseason work out as they hope, the Rangers should be fighting for a playoff spot by season’s end.

Speaking of moves made this offseason, Fox is finally going to be getting some help on the back end after two big trades made this offseason. After adding Vladislav Gavrikov last summer, the Rangers revamped their second defense pair heading into this season by adding Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson in two separate trades. Those two are going to bring some much-needed puck-moving ability to a defense that lacked it outside of Fox. The Rangers’ defense now, on paper, looks the best it has in years, possibly even better than when they won the Presidents’ Trophy during the 2023-24 season. With more help on the back end, Fox should be able to play his game to the highest degree, and that will get his doubters to finally see how good he has always been.

Fox has always been someone fans and executives look down on for several different reasons. He’s not the best skater and he doesn’t have the size of other players, so that makes him inferior in their eyes. However, what Fox lacks in those areas he makes up for with his Hockey IQ and his overall skill. The NHL Network ranking Fox the 13th-best defenseman does him a major disservice: he is a bona fide top-five defenseman that every team in the NHL would be lucky to have. The Rangers are blessed to have a player like him on their roster, and fans need to stop taking him for granted.