Can you guess which player is New York ranger’s most underrated player ?

Some supporters regard Adam Fox, the best defenseman the team has had since Brian Leetch, as a liability despite his elite status in the NHL. In the process of becoming the most undervalued skater on the team, the fury has outpaced the facts. 

The New York Rangers are in desperate need of a top-four defenseman to complement Adam Fox, who, contrary to what you might hear online, had another fantastic NHL season, going into the 2025–26 season.
The amount of hatred he has received is inexplicable for many reasons; whether it is simply the poisonous nature of the entire season as a result of its plot points or the huge expectations placed on Fox.

Although it is understandable for supporters to express their discontent when things don’t go according to plan, the manner and regularity with which Fox has been criticized stands out significantly.

He is a defender worthy of the Norris trophy and should have won it twice.

Fox scored 61 points in 74 games during the regular season, which was the ninth most among defenders. Forty of those points came when he was at even strength.
There is a difference here because Fox has earned the nickname “power play merchant,” which means that he is most useful when he is making power plays.

In that way, he is certainly skilled, and he is also one of the best 5v5 back guards in the game. Fox had a 58.19 goals for percentage, a 55.95 Corsi for percentage, and a 55.32 expected goals for percentage in the 2024–25 season.

It took opponents only 2.29 minutes per 60 minutes to score goals against the Rangers while Fox was on the ice. During that time, Fox and the Rangers scored an average of 3.19 goals per 60 minutes, which is a net plus.
Overall, he is in excellent company with these figures, since they are consistent with what Fox has done for the last three seasons. Some supporters feel that Fox isn’t up there with Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar as top-tier defenders. One reason for this is that those two are electric skateboarders whose game is so aggressive. Contrast this with Fox, who is steady and understated, and you can hear it clearly. But when you look at the stats, Fox still comes out on top as a great defender, much over the league average range of your usual top-pairing defender. His performance has even surpassed that of Hughes and Makar.

While these statistics don’t prove much on their own, they do add to the evidence that Fox remains an elite defender when combined with other accessible measures.

You’d think that Fox’s unwavering commitment to playing for the Rangers, along with his $9.5 million annual salary, would mean something, but it doesn’t.

Regardless, he’ll have the longest offseason of his career to prepare for the upcoming season. With Mike Sullivan coaching, the Rangers should be a stronger defensive unit, which will help alleviate some of the pressure on Fox. Fox is a competitive player who has been vocal about his disappointment with the way things have gone down, and this is his chance to prove his naysayers wrong.
If the team lives up to their potential, he could even be a Norris trophy contender.

You’d think that his pure desire to play here and the fact that he’s giving us a great deal for just $9.5 million a season would mean something, but it doesn’t.

As it stands, Fox has the longest downtime of his Ranger career so far. He can rest and get ready for the new season. His play should improve a lot with Mike Sullivan on the bench. Sullivan’s method should help the Rangers become a better defensive team, and Fox will have less work to do overall.
Fox is a competitive player who has been very vocal about how disappointed he is with how things have gone. This season, he has the perfect chance to silence his critics, and if the team plays as well as they can, he should be in the running for the Norris award again.