Confirmed with Link: Adam Fox Re-Signed

[OthmannOut]

Adam Fox is one of us. A kid that took LIRR to Penn Station, sat in the 400s, with his family, enjoying the success and wallowing in the defeats. Sweating out the playoff games, yelling at his TV when things weren't great, singing the goal song in the stands.

He's 23. In 2014, he was that teenager that you might have sat next to at MSG watching a playoff game. A fan like everyone else.

He understands what it is to us how the team does. He mentions team success in his presser. He wants to win here. He wanted to play here, just wanted to make the team.

If anyone in that room knows what fans think and how they feel and how bad we want it, it's him, because he wanted it just as bad. It's one thing to have a guy as talented as him, and he is the best in the league. But to know he is one of us, a diehard, makes it even more sweet.

He was in it for the long haul before ever wearing the jersey, now he's going to be the reason they succeed. We locked up a lifer, one of us, and it couldn't feel any better.

I'd buy this post if you sold it as an nft.

 

[Machinehead]

Fox feels like a natural fit, and bleeds Ranger red and blue, so in that sense I agree.

I worry about the reports of Leetch and McDonagh not excelling after being named captain though, and whether there is something to that pressure that hurts a player not cut out for it.

I kinda feel like Leetch had to live up to Messier, and McDonagh just wasn't Lundqvist.

Fox doesn't have that guy here that's clearly outshining him.

 

[Fansince1992]

They could have given Fox 8 years/$10 Mil and I wouldn't complain.

Surprised they didn't give him the 8th year. 8 years/$9Mil instead.

 

[mas0764]

They could have given Fox 8 years/$10 Mil and I wouldn't complain.

Surprised they didn't give him the 8th year. 8 years/$9Mil instead.

I'm sure an extra year would have been more AAV not less.

 

[McRanger92]

If that's the group that is being counted on to do the heavy lifting - ie if, as some have suggested, we are actually counting on Laf and Kakko not becoming superstars yet because we need to keep their salaries down, then I'm extremely pessimistic about our odds.

That group isn't beating the Lightning, the Islanders, the Avalanche, etc, in multiple seven games series'.

I think even with Laf and Kakko taking the leap we need 1-2 more high end forwards.

Or we need unmeasured growth from the young defensemen NOT named Fox that I haven't accounted for yet.

I get your point but the Lighting were considered choke artists for years until they finally broke through in the Covid bubble. The Avalanche have also been beaten by objectively worse teams the last two years. This core should make them a consistent playoff team over that 5-7 stretch, and thats all that really matters. If Shesterkin is the real deal ( he definitely looks it) i like our chances in any 7 game series, and that's not even accounting for bonafide elite talents like Fox & Panarin as the backbone of the roster.

Ill be pessimistic with this team when its warranted, but right now the team is finding ways to win with a new coach, tough road schedule and a few stars off to slow starts. They also just locked up 2 of their best players to long term deals at below market rates. If anything this is the time to be optimistic imo

 

[MysticLeviathan]

Laf and Kakko need to start showing up consistently and Chytil needs to be not totally invisible.

I do worry very much about our C situation with Chytil being mediocre at best to start and Strome’s future with the team. I do like a lot of the core. Having Fox locked up long term is a huge deal and so important for the core of the team.

 

[Clark Kellogg]

Happy Lindgren Media Availability.

 

[Clark Kellogg]

Gerard Gallant Media Availability.

 

[JimmyG89]

Facts!

People talk about you can't see "we" because you're not on the team.

My ass I'm not on the team! I've been doing this for 30 years and haven't gotten a dime for it. You're damn right it's we!

And it was always we for this young man. I'm very happy for him.

I bounce back and forth on that, but in this case, he's a NY kid. We might have locked in the absolute prime years of a top 10 player in the league and the best on the back end. It's hard to think what player has come into the league and in roughly 2 years became the best at his position.

Even guys like McDavid, Crosby, Ovechkin, took time before they were the best at their position. Fox hit the ground running, was arguably the Calder winner, and then just locked down being the best at his position 6 months later. And he is even better this season. With the players in the league currently, idk if he would ever get mentioned as the best player overall, but his trajectory is basically that. Impacts all 3 zones, powerplay, and pk. Crosby was that for a long time, still extremely effective, but you're not seeing that from a McDavid, Draisatil, Matthews, MacKinnon.

The guys that stand out as that besides him are Barkov, Stone, Hedman, and I think Aho and Couturier are pretty darn close to that group too. Some of the older guys are still there, but will fall off soon. It's amazing to have this player at 23 and not at 27 signing this deal.

 

[Fansince1992]

They could have given Fox 8 years/$10 Mil and I wouldn't complain.

Surprised they didn't give him the 8th year. 8 years/$9Mil instead.

I'm sure an extra year would have been more AAV not less.

Why would an extra year be more? Rangers giving Fox an extra year to lower the AVV from $9.5-$9 mil. 8/$9 Mil= $72 Mil vs 7/$9.5= $66.5 mil. It would benefit both sides

 

[Adam Fox Time]

Love that we signed Fox, I'm glad the first number is one digit.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I get your point but the Lighting were considered choke artists for years until they finally broke through in the Covid bubble. The Avalanche have also been beaten by objectively worse teams the last two years. This core should make them a consistent playoff team over that 5-7 stretch, and thats all that really matters. If Shesterkin is the real deal ( he definitely looks it) i like our chances in any 7 game series, and that's not even accounting for bonafide elite talents like Fox & Panarin as the backbone of the roster.

Ill be pessimistic with this team when its warranted, but right now the team is finding ways to win with a new coach, tough road schedule and a few stars off to slow starts. They also just locked up 2 of their best players to long term deals at below market rates. If anything this is the time to be optimistic imo

The 11-12 through 14-15 Rangers didn't win it all but were contenders with deeper rosters but far worse top talent. And even in terms of depth, our 4th line this year has been great and I feel like you can do worse than the Chytil line as the 3rd line.

 

[huerter]

Adam Fox is one of us. A kid that took LIRR to Penn Station, sat in the 400s, with his family, enjoying the success and wallowing in the defeats. Sweating out the playoff games, yelling at his TV when things weren't great, singing the goal song in the stands.

He's 23. In 2014, he was that teenager that you might have sat next to at MSG watching a playoff game. A fan like everyone else.

He understands what it is to us how the team does. He mentions team success in his presser. He wants to win here. He wanted to play here, just wanted to make the team.

If anyone in that room knows what fans think and how they feel and how bad we want it, it's him, because he wanted it just as bad. It's one thing to have a guy as talented as him, and he is the best in the league. But to know he is one of us, a diehard, makes it even more sweet.

He was in it for the long haul before ever wearing the jersey, now he's going to be the reason they succeed. We locked up a lifer, one of us, and it couldn't feel any better.

Mel and Bruce aint sitting in the 400s.

 

[bhamill]

Why would an extra year be more? Rangers giving Fox an extra year to lower the AVV from $9.5-$9 mil. 8/$9 Mil= $72 Mil vs 7/$9.5= $66.5 mil. It would benefit both sides

Would likely have been more money to "buy" another UFA year.

 

[mas0764]

Why would an extra year be more? Rangers giving Fox an extra year to lower the AVV from $9.5-$9 mil. 8/$9 Mil= $72 Mil vs 7/$9.5= $66.5 mil. It would benefit both sides

Because you are buying up a year of his service in which the salary cap and average salaries are likely to be way higher.

 

[mas0764]

I get your point but the Lighting were considered choke artists for years until they finally broke through in the Covid bubble. The Avalanche have also been beaten by objectively worse teams the last two years. This core should make them a consistent playoff team over that 5-7 stretch, and thats all that really matters. If Shesterkin is the real deal ( he definitely looks it) i like our chances in any 7 game series

??

Why is making the playoffs all that matters?

Most years one of the objectively better teams in the playoffs is the one that wins it. Not a lot of 5, 6, 7, 8 seeds winning Cups. It's not always the 1 seed, but it's the 1 seed more than any other seed.

Winning a Cup is what matters, this team has seen plenty of playoff success this past decade. Winning a Cup is what eludes it.

Shesterkin is nice but Cup winners usually do so with hot goalie play not necessarily the best regular season goalies. The usual winners usually have substantially more forward talent than we currently have, especially as we currently don't have Kakko and Lafreniere playing as elite players. If they were to become elite, how elite probably helps ameliorate the issue (ie, if they are 90-100 point players, we need less, if they are 70 point players, we need more), but I'm still not certain we have enough forward talent.

Fox being elite is a given already. You need an elite 1D to win the Cup, we have ours, box checked. That's fantastic news.

But we still need forward help to be Cup winners.

 

[McRanger92]

The 11-12 through 14-15 Rangers didn't win it all but were contenders with deeper rosters but far worse top talent. And even in terms of depth, our 4th line this year has been great and I feel like you can do worse than the Chytil line as the 3rd line.

On top of that, we should all expect them to add significantly at the deadline if they are in the thick of the Metro race. At least 1 more top 6 forward and and a veteran defenseman at minimum. They are still flush with cap space (for this year) picks and expendable prospects. Drury is in the drivers seat when it comes to the rental market this year, that to me is his next big test as a GM

 

[Fansince1992]

Because you are buying up a year of his service in which the salary cap and average salaries are likely to be way higher.

Ah gotcha! That makes sense now

 

[romba]

Because you are buying up a year of his service in which the salary cap and average salaries are likely to be way higher.

@Fansince1992 Not only that, Fox’s next contract starts a year further into his prime if he gives an extra year on the current one, meaning you’d be paying for an extra non-prime year at the end of it, driving down his overall value. Better for him to cut this one a bit shorter and maximize the next one

 

[McRanger92]

??

Why is making the playoffs all that matters?

Most years one of the objectively better teams in the playoffs is the one that wins it. Not a lot of 5, 6, 7, 8 seeds winning Cups. It's not always the 1 seed, but it's the 1 seed more than any other seed.

Winning a Cup is what matters, this team has seen plenty of playoff success this past decade. Winning a Cup is what eludes it.

Shesterkin is nice but Cup winners usually do so with hot goalie play not necessarily the best regular season goalies. The usual winners usually have substantially more forward talent than we currently have, especially as we currently don't have Kakko and Lafreniere playing as elite players. If they were to become elite, how elite probably helps ameliorate the issue (ie, if they are 90-100 point players, we need less, if they are 70 point players, we need more), but I'm still not certain we have enough forward talent.

Fox being elite is a given already. You need an elite 1D to win the Cup, we have ours, box checked. That's fantastic news.

But we still need forward help to be Cup winners.

Since 2010, only 3 #1 seeds have made it to the Cup Final. 2 Won (Hawks in 2013 & Caps in 2018) and 1 lost (Canucks in 2011). Playoff seeding does not correlate with winning the Cup. What does is being there every year and experiencing deep runs and, unfortunately, heartbreak.

The elite skill this team has right now differentiates it from past NYR teams. I still think they need to get in and really learn what it takes, like all contenders do, but i really believe in this core. At this point, we as fans have little choice not to.

 

[mas0764]

Since 2010, only 3 #1 seeds have made it to the Cup Final.

Yeah but how many times has the team reaching the Cup Final been 1st or 2nd in their division, ie, a top 4 seed?

I bet the vast majority.

The elite skill this team has right now differentiates it from past NYR teams. I still think they need to get in and really learn what it takes, like all contenders do, but i really believe in this core. At this point, we as fans have little choice not to.

The elite skill this team has differentiates it from past NYR teams but still does not establish it as a favorite.

I'm not saying it's impossible this team wins a Cup, but I am saying their goal should be to become a Lightning/Colorado/Pittsburgh/Chicago/Boston/LA, a team that wins multiple times or is capable of winning multiple times.

Those teams usually win with similar amounts of talent/templates. Dom L documented it in an article last year and I'm sure the Lightning this year did nothing to disprove his checklist.

Depending on what timeline we are looking at (ie, in the next 2-3 years while Panarin and Zibanejad remain "elite," and Kreider remains a top-6 forward but Kakko and Lafreniere are not yet elite, or, conversely, more like 3-6 years out when we can more safely assume we have elite players out of Lafreniere, Kakko, Miller, Lundkvist, but that Panarin and Zibanejad have likely declined to supporting top-6 players), I'd say our checklist remains at least one very high end top center and possibly another top 6 winger short.

We should be good on defense as long as we can keep the band together back there, but forward needs work big time.

Sure, you can be a one-off, but who wants that? Don't we want to establish a team that can win over the course of a decade? Are we that much in a hurry to win right now?

We need to have a little foresight and sell off or rid ourselves of pieces that won't be here or will be hindrances to that future core to make sure it's properly buffered.

 

[McRanger92]

Yeah but how many times has the team reaching the Cup Final been 1st or 2nd in their division, ie, a top 4 seed?

I bet the vast majority.



The elite skill this team has differentiates it from past NYR teams but still does not establish it as a favorite.

I'm not saying it's impossible this team wins a Cup, but I am saying their goal should be to become a Lightning/Colorado/Pittsburgh/Chicago/Boston/LA, a team that wins multiple times or is capable of winning multiple times.

Those teams usually win with similar amounts of talent/templates. Dom L documented it in an article last year and I'm sure the Lightning this year did nothing to disprove his checklist.

Depending on what timeline we are looking at (ie, in the next 2-3 years while Panarin and Zibanejad remain "elite," and Kreider remains a top-6 forward but Kakko and Lafreniere are not yet elite, or, conversely, more like 3-6 years out when we can more safely assume we have elite players out of Lafreniere, Kakko, Miller, Lundkvist, but that Panarin and Zibanejad have likely declined to supporting top-6 players), I'd say our checklist remains at least one very high end top center and possibly another top 6 winger short.

We should be good on defense as long as we can keep the band together back there, but forward needs work big time.

Sure, you can be a one-off, but who wants that? Don't we want to establish a team that can win over the course of a decade? Are we that much in a hurry to win right now?

We need to have a little foresight and sell off or rid ourselves of pieces that won't be here or will be hindrances to that future core to make sure it's properly buffered.

First of all i never said the Rangers were a Cup "favorite", just that the core in place is the one they plan on going to battle with for the next 5-7 years. My whole point is that the timeline to win a Cup is with these guys signed, none of them are going anywhere in the near future.

And as much as it pains me to say, Laf/Kakko/Chytil have done very little for me to be worried about their future contracts. Kreider/Trouba are indispensable to this team right now and going forward, the Rangers aren't thinking about moving them because of what those guys might make if they ever show any progress. That's not how teams that are contending operate. Everything the Rangers have done in the past 6 months proves that they are focused on contending.

 

[mas0764]

First of all i never said the Rangers were a Cup "favorite", just that the core in place is the one they plan on going to battle with for the next 5-7 years. My whole point is that the timeline to win a Cup is with these guys signed, none of them are going anywhere in the near future.

Right, but my point is, I don't agree with that approach because I don't think they are a Cup favorite with that core.

I mean, maybe it's what the team is planning to do, go to war with a second round playoff exit roster for the next half decade, but that's a bad idea, is what I'm saying. I said I understand, it's not impossible to win, look at the Blues, but if you are starting from the perspective of a tear-down you shouldn't be AIMING to be the Blues, you should be aiming to be the Blackhawks or Penguins. After landing the first and second overall picks, the latter should be more our goal than the former. The elite teams win a lot more Cups than the one-offs. You increase your odds dramatically if you can amass that elite amount of talent. Why aren't we trying for that?

And as much as it pains me to say, Laf/Kakko/Chytil have done very little for me to be worried about their future contracts.

Well that is terrible news for our chances of winning a Cup.

What we have right now if Laf and Kakko are not stars is not likely to win it all.

It'll be entertaining, will result in many playoff appearances, but we've been there, done that. The odds are extremely likely it ends the same way.

That's not what we were told was the objective when the Letter went out. And I don't know why everyone is suddenly so eager to get on with being a mere playoff team.

Kreider/Trouba are indispensable to this team right now and going forward, the Rangers aren't thinking about moving them because of what those guys might make if they ever show any progress. That's not how teams that are contending operate. Everything the Rangers have done in the past 6 months proves that they are focused on contending.

"Because it's just not how teams do things," is the argument I keep hearing without any justification. Because we say so.

Well that's just not gonna cut it for the Rangers if they want to be an elite team, but it seems like the owner has stepped in and said he's ok with being a playoff gate revenue team and the fans are lining up behind him.

I guess it's true, you can't rebuild in New York.

 

[McRanger92]

Right, but my point is, I don't agree with that approach because I don't think they are a Cup favorite with that core.

I mean, maybe it's what the team is planning to do, go to war with a second round playoff exit roster for the next half decade, but that's a bad idea, is what I'm saying. I said I understand, it's not impossible to win, look at the Blues, but if you are starting from the perspective of a tear-down you shouldn't be AIMING to be the Blues, you should be aiming to be the Blackhawks or Penguins. After landing the first and second overall picks, the latter should be more our goal than the former. The elite teams win a lot more Cups than the one-offs. You increase your odds dramatically if you can amass that elite amount of talent. Why aren't we trying for that?



Well that is terrible news for our chances of winning a Cup.

What we have right now if Laf and Kakko are not stars is not likely to win it all.

It'll be entertaining, will result in many playoff appearances, but we've been there, done that. The odds are extremely likely it ends the same way.

That's not what we were told was the objective when the Letter went out. And I don't know why everyone is suddenly so eager to get on with being a mere playoff team.



"Because it's just not how teams do things," is the argument I keep hearing without any justification. Because we say so.

Well that's just not gonna cut it for the Rangers if they want to be an elite team, but it seems like the owner has stepped in and said he's ok with being a playoff gate revenue team and the fans are lining up behind him.

I guess it's true, you can't rebuild in New York.

You could've stopped here. We simply disagree on the capability of the core in place. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Peltz]

You could've stopped here. We simply disagree on the capability of the core in place. Nothing wrong with that.

I'm all for being bullish on the team, but when really have no plan for a 2C after this season, you don't have a cup winning core. They still have to figure out what they're doing at the center position long term. And as much as I want Chytil to be that guy, he has yet to prove he is.

It's a major issue right now unless Strome takes a huge discount.

I think Kakko and Laf are also important to the franchise, but am willing to be quite a bit more patient with them since the winger position is less important to a team's success, and we can afford another year for them to ripen.

Overall, I like the shape of the team. But you can't really say you have a cup winning core of players without the centers to back it up.

They have some high end wingers locked down - the potential for two more on the way - and a core of 4 defensemen, maybe even more than that if their prospects do well, and 4 years of a potential vezina candidate at this rate.

But without a good 2C, that's really not enough to win.