Since forcing his way to the New York Rangers in 2019, Adam Fox has been the face of the blue line. Over his six years on Broadway, he has racked up 63 goals and 306 assists for 369 points with 678 blocks, 197 hits, and 348 takeaways. He's also made three all-star games and won the Norris Trophy during the 2021-22 season. It's safe to say Fox's time in a Rangers sweater has been a huge success.
While Fox has accomplished a lot with the Rangers, the one thing he hasn't done is break a Rangers record. Now it's too early for him to have broken any career records; however, he's more than capable of breaking a season record. While he's come close in the past, he's yet to have that signature moment of him breaking a record held by a franchise icon. But is his luck about to change?
Why Adam Fox has the best chance at breaking the defenseman point record
The most obtainable record for Fox to break is the points by a defenseman in a season. This record currently belongs to Brian Leetch after he posted 102 points in the 1991-92 season. Fox is no stranger to high point totals during his time with the Rangers. He's averaged 70 points a season and has a career-high of 74 points during the 2021-22 season. Those 74 points came in just 78 games, meaning he was able to set a career high while not playing the full season.
Prior to having his 102 point outburst, Leetch had a line of 52-177-229 in 237 games played (0.96 points per game). Fox's first four seasons saw him post a line of 36-199-235 in in 285 games played (0.82 points per game). Fox's production has been consistent, and he's seemingly due for that big year offensively that he's clearly capable of.
Similar to Leetch, Fox is someone who relies heavily on assists for his point totals. He's only scored over 15 goals in a season once in his career; however, he has registered 50+ points in four of his six NHL seasons. So if Fox has any chance at breaking the defenseman point record, their offense can't have a repeat performance of 2024-25. Guys like Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafrenière, and Vincent Trocheck need to return to the players they were in 2023-24.
The addition of head coach Mike Sullivan should improve the areas where the Rangers struggled. Peter Laviolette may be a former Stanley Cup-winning coach, but he wasn't the right guy to lead that team. Sullivan is the type of coach who's able to get the most out of his players. This will go a long way into revitalizing the players that struggled last season, and evaluating the play of others, Fox being one of them.
Another thing that will help Fox contend for the record is David Quinn regaining control of the power play. You can say whatever you want about Quinn's time as Rangers head coach; however, the one thing you can't knock him for is his ability to run a power play. His special team strategy is what helps the Rangers get back-to-back conference finals. Quinn also led Pittsburgh to the sixth-best power-play in the league. Quinn should bring the power play back into the top five, which will give Fox more opportunities to score points.
The addition of Vladislav Gavrikov, a true shutdown defenseman, should also help Fox take his game to another level. Gavrikov will be able to help shoulder a lot of the pressure that Fox has had on his shoulders over the past few seasons, and a real partner on the ice should allow Fox to get more involved offensively.
Is Fox a lock to break the Rangers defenseman point record this season? No. Even if everything mentioned above goes right, he still would need to tally 29 more points than his previous career high. However, if there is one player who can have a breakout like that, it's him.