This 2025-26 season was a frustrating one for Adam Fox after he was limited to just 55 games because of injuries, and the recent unveiling of Norris voting certainly adds some insult to injury. While no one expected Fox to win, it was a bit jarring to see him finish dead last with a lone fifth-place vote. The way the voting shook out revealed a lot about the process, and speaks to what voters were potentially looking for this year.
Zach Werenski captures his first Norris Trophy
Werenski finished first with 1,589 voting points, Cale Makar finished second with 1,191 voting points, and Rasmus Dahlin finished third with 657 voting points. Here's the full voting results courtesy of Peter Baugh of The Athletic.
Here's the full voting breakdown for the Norris Trophy: pic.twitter.com/u5L4ZpDFFv
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) June 2, 2026
Fox received a lone fifth place vote, and it will be interesting to see which writer recognized him for his effort this season. This season the Rangers' alternate captain scored nine goals and tallied 44 assists for 53 points in 55 games. That was good enough for 20th in the league despite appearing in just 55 games. For context, Brock Faber was 21st with 51 points in 80 games, Moritz Seider was 13th with 60 points in 82 games, and Miro Heiskanen was 9th with 63 points in 77 games. Given the pace Fox was on to start the season, and when he returned from injury, he was well within range to finish near a point per game which would have saw him finish among the top five.
How Fox's underlying numbers compaired to the finalists
Just for laughs, here's a look at Fox's numbers via Evolving-Hockey against the finalists just to give some context for the season that he had.
Skater | TOI | GF% | CF% | xGF% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Adam Fox | 1,013 | 56.75 | 55.47 | 58.2 |
Zach Werenski | 1,551 | 55.03 | 54.51 | 56.02 |
Cale Makar | 1,300 | 64.37 | 56.21 | 55.93 |
Rasmus Dahlin | 1,436 | 60.34 | 54.51 | 54.27 |
Of the defenders on this list, Fox had the best xGF%, the second-best CF%, the third-best GF%, and obviously the fewest minutes. If you were to include goals against per 60 minutes, the order of the list would go Makar (1.92), Fox (2.03), Dahlin (2.16) and Werenski. (2.54). When looking at goals for per 60 minutes the list goes Makar (3.48), Dahlin (3.29), Werenski (3.11), and Fox (2.67).
The other stat of interest comes from HockeyViz.com, and that is synthetic goals. sG is an all in stat that looks at cumulative impact in various areas including 5v5 offense and defense, finishing, special teams, the drawing and taking of penalties, and more. This season Fox posted a +21.3 sG , Dahlin was second with a +14.4 sG , Werenski was third with +11.2 sG , and Makar fourth with a +8.0 sG. GAR is another all in stat, this one is from Evolving-Hockey, and their list saw Werenski worth a 23.6 GAR, Fox worth 17.5 GAR, Makar at 16.8 GAR, and Dahlin at 16.6 GAR.
The key takeaway here is that Fox is very important to the New York Rangers, and he was very productive and efficient while he was on the ice. It stands to reason that if he'd remained healthy, he could have been a serious contender for the award.
Other thoughts on the votes
Evan Bouchard led defenders in scoring this season with 95 points, and it certainly feels like his fourth place finish reflects that, because statistically he's not as strong a defensive player as the three finalists.
Hughes was the incumbent, and I'd imagine him joining the Wild and boosting his numbers hurt his candidacy since last year's win was fueled by what he did in spite of the Vancouver Canucks. He's widely considered to be one of the top-three defenders in the league, but that reputation took a bit of a hit here.
Mo Seider was a popular candidate for most of the season, and I wonder if his brief skid along with the Detroit Red Wings falling out of playoff contention was enough for voters to knock him down the ballot.
Lane Hutson is just 21, and he proved that his rookie year wasn't a fluke. He doubled his goal total, increased his assist output, and has 78 points in 82 games which is very impressive. At 5'9" and 162 pounds, there are tons of detractors out there who are waiting for him to fail, and he proved many of them wrong in the playoffs even though he had a tough series against Carolina. He's someone who should be in the mix for the award next year, and should be happy with the votes he received.
Lone vote should motivate Fox heading into next season
It sounds stupid, but it almost would have been better for Fox not to receive a vote at all. Him not being on the list would have been justified in a sense because he played under 60 games, but I'd imagine him seeing the results and being dead last is going to light even more of a fire in him. It was bad enough to be snubbed for the Olympics on top of his injuries, and this could be just the extra motivation he needs to get to another level next season. Fox already has a Norris Trophy, and should have a second one, and should capture at least one more before his career is over.
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