We’re less than two months into the Rangers’ offseason, but Adam Fox has been busy in more ways than one.
Busy making NHL history as just the second player to win the Norris Trophy after his second season — a feat that only the legendary Bobby Orr accomplished in 1968 on the way to his league record eight wins as the league’s top defenseman. Busy joining the likes of Doug Harvey, Harry Howell and Brian Leetch as the only Rangers to earn a majority of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association’s votes for the honor, which is bestowed on the defenseman who “demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.”
Busy becoming the first Ranger to win a major NHL award since future Hall of Fame goaltender Henrik Lundqvist took home the Vezina Trophy nine years ago.
Oh, and on top of all that, Fox is taking his final two classes to graduate from Harvard this summer.
“It will be nice to finally get the degree,” the 23-year-old defenseman nonchalantly told The Post over the phone.
So after the dust settles from winning the Norris and he completes his two online courses to earn his psychology degree from Harvard, where does Fox, who was one point removed from leading all NHL defensemen in scoring this season, go from here?
“I think just making an impact on every shift,” Fox said of what he hopes to improve in his game. “I’ve said it during the season, just the way I play hockey, I try to just make the right play. I don’t really try and get out of what I can do. Just like anyone, you want to make an impact play or be able to dominate games.
“For me, it’s what I want to try and do. Just playing with the great players we have, I’m the guy that tries to make plays and get them the puck. I think, for me, not much changes.
“Just trying to be a good two-way defender, obviously getting a little more responsibility defensively is important to me. Just being trusted. Nothing too crazy, I think just keeping it simple and trying to make the right play shift in and shift out.”
But there is nothing simple about Fox, who will enter the final year of his entry-level contract with the Blueshirts in 2021-22. The Jericho native has become one of the most important cornerstones of the organization as it tries to reestablish itself as a legitimate playoff contender.
As half, with Ryan Lindgren, of the Rangers’ top defensive pairing, one of the youngest and most effective duos in the NHL, Fox simply made the Rangers a more dynamic team in all areas of the game. He not only posted a team-high 23 power-play points while quarterbacking the top unit, he also improved the team’s overall effectiveness at even strength and on the penalty kill, and bolstered transition play out of the defensive zone.
The Rangers have gotten all that for the bargain price of Fox’s $925,000 cap hit. Considering Fox will be a restricted free agent without arbitration rights after next season, he won’t have a chance to test the open market, which makes him more likely to sign for less than his actual value.
But in the flat salary cap world, the Rangers would be wise to lock Fox down on a long-term deal sooner rather than later. Fox is eligible for an extension this summer and is poised to only continue upping his price tag next season.
So how much is a Norris Trophy-winning defenseman with a degree from Harvard who has only scratched the surface of his potential worth?