The 2025-26 New York Rangers' season was a disappointment that most fans want to forget, and what is so frustrating about it is the short stretch toward the end of the season when Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin were back in the lineup. It was around this time where the Rangers were better of losing to improve their lottery odds, just look how that panned out, but instead fans were given a glimpse of what could have been. There was obviously a lot of drama involving Fox and whether or not he wanted to remain a Ranger through the retool, but the good news is that seems to have subsided.
Even with that said, I think most people are sleeping on the fact of how good Fox was when healthy this season, and why the Rangers can't afford to waste another season of his prime. The Rangers feel like a team that just needs to make the playoffs to be dangerous, and even though there are limited options of improving the roster, the front office needs to build a team to get the most out of Fox.
Fox quietly had one of the best seasons of his career
When most fans debate about the top defenders in the league, most gravitate to names of defenders who put up points. Fox was well on his way to having the most productive offensive season of his career, but injuries limited him to 55 games. In those games he put up nine goals and 44 assists for 53 points, which is impressive considering he finished with 61 points in 74 games the year prior.
Fox's underlying numbers were also off the charts, and feature a 56.75 GF%, a 55.47 CF%, and a 58.2 xGF% per Evolving-Hockey. There was a slight step back in terms of GF per 60, he finished with a 2.67 as opposed to a 3.19 the year prior, but his GA/60 went from 2.29 to 2.03. That, plus everything else he does, is absolutely elite level stuff.
The Rangers have a lot to like about their roster
The Rangers theoretically have many of the key pillars for a bona fide contender, and they need to do their best to build around them. They brought in a Stanley Cup winning coach in Mike Sullivan, they have an all-world goaltender in Igor Shesterkin, and an all-world defender in Fox. The hope is that Alexis Lafrenière's breakout is for real this time. Mika Zibanejad can keep his momentum going, Gabe Perreault continues his development, and J.T. Miller bounces back after a long offseason of rest.
There are other pieces like Vladislav Gavrikov and Noah Laba of note, and they aren't that far off from being a playoff team. Being a true contender... now that's another story. But with Fox playing the way he did this past season, there's no excuse for the Rangers to punt again come the fall. If they don't plan on getting the most out of him, that could result in a tough but necessary conversation... but that's a story for a different day.
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