Mike Sullivan believes Adam Fox has a “next-level” game that could win another Norris

New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan is a huge fan of Adam Fox, and believes that the Norris Trophy winner has a "next-level" he can ascend to. Fox has been one of the league's top defenders since making his National Hockey League debut, and one who hopes to be part of the Team USA squad that seeks to win a gold medal for the first time since 1980, and he will have the opportunity to prove himself once again.

Hockey world has wrongly been down on Fox

A poor performance at the 4 Nations Face-Off has absurdly damaged Fox's reputation, and that's been evident in various offseason rankings.

That said, there are some people out there who still know what's up.

Having Sullivan in New York, along with a new partner in Vladislav Gavrikov, will hopefully help the hockey world realize that Fox is still an elite defenseman. Even with that being the case, it would appear that Sullivan is trying to light a fire under Fox, and motivate him.

Sullivan wants to bring out the best in Fox

Via The Athletic: "I think ‘Foxy’ knows he’s capable of a better game. And him and I have had discussions about it, and I think he’s inspired with the opportunity to bring a better version of himself. And I told him when I became his coach that I was going to do everything in my power to help him become the best version of himself."

Elite players always want to improve, and I think a better version of Fox would be him increasing his offensive output to the point where he's above a point per game, Since joining the Rangers he's provided elite defense and great offense, but he's been stuck in the 70-point range. There's nothing wrong with that, but there's clearly room for improvement. Unfortunately you have a lot of voters who pay attention to point totals, and that's a big reason why Fox doesn't have a second Norris Trophy.

Fox should have more hardware in his trophy case

The 2022-23 season was a special season for Fox, and in 82 games he tallied 12 goals and 60 assists for 72 points. From an underlying metrics standpoint, Fox had a GF% of 59.63, a CF% of 54.95, and an xGF% of 54.93. He was also only on the ice for for 1.96 goals against per 60 minutes, quite an impressive feat.

Erik Karrlson won the Norris Trophy that season, primarily because he became the first defenseman since Brian Leetch to finish with over 100 points in a single season. He was on a very bad San Jose Sharks team that missed the playoffs, and his underlyings include a 49.63 GF%, a 52.37 CF%, and a 50.65 xGF% while being on the ice for 3.49 goals against per 60 minutes. This was his third Norris Trophy, and one that should have gone to Fox instead.

A next level for Fox would put him on Hall of Fame trajectory

Sullivan believes Fox elevating his game could result in him winning a second Norris Trophy, and if he were to do that, you could argue the Rangers would have a future Hall of Famer on their roster.

"We think, we believe, that Foxy’s capable of a next-level game. A Norris Trophy-caliber game. You don’t win the Norris Trophy if you’re not capable of that, and we believe he still is."

This may be a hot take, but Fox has played at a Norris Trophy level the past two seasons. Fox has averaged 23:21 over the last two seasons while scoring 27 goals and adding 107 assists for 134 points in 146 games. In that span he's logged 2,500 minutes at 5v5, posted a 58.84 GF%, a 54.8 CF%, and a 53.35 xGF% while being on the ice for just 2.07 goals against per 60 minutes.

The upcoming Olympics are motivation enough for Fox, but don't count out the impact of the long offseason as a result of the Rangers missing the playoffs will have on him. If Fox takes his game to another level from that, the rest of the league will need to look out, because they will have a monster on their hands. He's capable of doing it, and if it comes to fruition, there will be a lot of people who look foolish for ever doubting Fox.