Adam Fox Faces High-Stakes Season as Rangers Seek Rebound

Adam Fox, the New York Rangers' star defenseman, enters the 2025-26 season with plenty to prove after a year that drew intense scrutiny of the franchise. The fallout from last season touched nearly everyone connected to the club, including Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, general manager Chris Drury and then-head coach Peter Laviolette. Fox won the Norris Trophy in 2020-21 as the league's top defenseman and finished in the top five of Norris voting in each of the following three seasons, a run that established him as one of the NHL's premier blueliners. He and Cale Makar were the only two defensemen to appear in the Norris top five for four straight seasons.

Fox's play regressed last season, at times looking a step slower and unable to win the important battles that defined his earlier work. The downturn ran parallel to a disappointing 4 Nations tournament for Team USA, where his role and ice time diminished as the event evolved. The decisions at Team USA during that event were guided by Mike Sullivan. Sullivan, the coach who once alternated Fox's role at international events, is now the Rangers' bench boss. And he will reprise his role as Team USA's head coach at the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan, where he is expected to have some influence on roster decisions.

Rangers management will be looking for Fox to reclaim the form that made him a Norris winner and a staple on the club's top pairing. A rebound would buoy a defense that blends veteran leadership with young talents and that remains the team's core in a division that demands depth and consistency. Fox's arc — from Norris-era centerpiece to a player in need of a reset, to a cornerstone of a team under a coach who oversees both the NHL club and the national program — mirrors the broader storyline for the Rangers this season. The path to relevance in 2025-26 will be measured largely by how quickly Fox regains the stride and edge that defined his early career.