New York Rangers star defenseman is expected to take on a significant role within the organization
Photo credit: New England Hockey Journal
Under New Head Coach Mike Sullivan, it appears that the former Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Adam Fox will have a new purpose. Could it be more of a two-way role for Fox, or purely offensive?
Mike Sullivan is no stranger to coaching elite talent in the NHL. He was the bench boss with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the last ten years and recently coached Erik Karlsson.
Karlsson is known purely for his offensive skills, and Sullivan played to his strengths. Something that could change for Fox, who possesses skills on both sides of the puck, could find himself in a situation to shoot more often.
The only challenge in New York is that Fox this year won't have a partner to help give him chances to score more often. As his former partner, Ryan Lindgren, is now in Colorado.
Changes for Fox
To give you an idea, the changes involve shooting the puck often, something he's done in Pittsburgh with Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson successfully.
Per Natural Stat Trick:
In Pittsburgh, Sullivan's game plan for Letang and Karlsson was simple: Shoot. According to Natural Stat Trick, at 5-on-5, Karlsson had 397 shot attempts, 227 of which were unblocked, but only 145 hit the target. Letang had 293 attempts, 184 unblocked, but only 130 were on goal.
Fox will hopefully be ready to resume play after 2024-2025, being a down year. If Sullivan can play to his strengths, he can find a way to shoot more, something he hasn't done since 2022-2023, when he shot the puck a total of 159 times.
Fox has passed 150 shots twice in his career. He will be asked to shoot more because he can pierce through traffic.
Sullivan will want to see his 5v5 shots increase, while giving him scoring chances more often as a result.
Fox's shot rates at 5-on-5 are nowhere close to this. Fox had 239 attempted shots, 144 unblocked, and only 89 were on goal. Sullivan will certainly make sure Fox is shooting the puck more frequently.
In the meantime, it may take longer than a season to fix this. Fox will likely gain a new partner on the top pair, and he'll have to learn a new system with Sullivan at the helm.
| POLL | ||
MAI 16 | 917 ANSWERS New York Rangers star defenseman is expected to take on a significant role within the organization Do you think Head Coach Mike Sullivan of the New York Rangers' plan for defenseman Adam Fox is good? | ||
| Yes | 773 | 84.3 % |
| No | 144 | 15.7 % |
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