Adam Fox has been getting a lot of harsh criticism in the rankings and ratings space, but finally the New York Rangers' top defender is getting some good news for a change.
Cale Makar sits at 95 OVR in #NHL26.
— EA SPORTS NHL (@EASPORTSNHL) August 25, 2025
Adam Fox trails at 90, too big of a gap? 🤔
See Defensive Ratings here: https://t.co/1ZOOUJeVAz pic.twitter.com/S004oecFDS
Fox was rated as the second-best right-handed defender with an overall rating of 90, and he's in a tier of players including Jaccob Slavin and Josh Morrissey in a tie for the game's eighth-best defender. Defenders rated ahead of Fox include Miro Heiskanen (91), Victor Hedman (92), Roman Josi (92), Zach Werenski (92), Cale Makar (95), and Quinn Hughes (95).
Anyone who has been reading stories this summer at BLS understand my thoughts about Fox, and how many are getting down on him for no reason. These rankings are for a video game, so at the end of the day they aren't all that important. We are in August and there isn't a ton of fresh hockey content, so forgive me for focusing on the fresh meat.
Fox was given an 87 rating for acceleration, an 86 for speed, 93 for deking, 92 for passing, 89 for slapshot, and an 88 for wrist shot. The speed and acceleration scores were pretty interesting, especially since he's not the most fleet of foot.
In terms of the other marks, I would take issue with passing being only a 92 overall. He's one of the game's top setup men on the back end, and has 306 assists since entering the league which is third-most in the league only behind Makar (312) and Hughes (347).
Hughes was given a 97 for his passing ability, and Makar was given a 95, so the gap in rating seems a bit much. It is possible they are factoring in accuracy by considering turnovers, but Fox's 338 turnovers since entering the league aren't that bad considering Makar also has 304 whereas Hughes only has 298. We don't know exactly how they are arriving here, but I think a 94 would have been more accurate.
But like I said, it is just a video game, and we are nearing the end of August, and this game me an excuse to have another mini rant about Fox.
EA Sports NHL 26 is released on Friday, September 12, 2025, and those who pre-order a deluxe edition of the game will receive early access which opens up on Friday, September 5th.