TAMPA, Fla. — Adam Fox still hears boos every time he goes to Calgary or North Carolina.
The Flames and Hurricanes fan bases are still reeling from the Jericho, New York, native’s decision to use his Norris Trophy-winning talent to force a move to the team he grew up with, the Rangers. He seems to be feeling it. He made the jump to the NHL five years ago.
Who wouldn’t be bitter about missing out on a dynamic defenseman who ranked fifth among players at his position in scoring since entering the league in 2019-20?
Fox scored the Rangers’ only goal in a 1-0 win over the Hurricanes on Tuesday, giving the 26-year-old the 15th game-winning goal in his career.
As a result, Fox not only tied Reijo Ruosalainen for the third-most wins by a defenseman in franchise history, but he now leads the entire NHL in points won over the past five seasons.
“I was about to pay it off. [newly acquired forward Jack Roslovic] I hope it hits his stick or something,” Fox said of his goal. “I saw him go to the back door. I think we had a little bit of a mentality to get the puck early, to get it there. What does that mean? [the Hurricanes] do. And when you do that, you get a bounce. We were lucky to have that player join us. ”
Fox, who has scored 12 points (3 goals, 9 assists) in the past 12 games, continues to produce results while showing a steady presence on the back line. He has contributed to the Rangers’ quarterback power play.
In fact, Fox is tied with Roman Josi of the Predators for the third-most power play points since the 2019-20 season (124).
All this while logging 1,077 minutes, 06 seconds, the sixth-most time on power play ice.
Fox’s impressive numbers don’t stop there since he entered the NHL, as he ranks second in takeaways with 293 behind the Hurricanes’ Jacob Slavin.
Chris Kreider became the third Ranger to reach the 60-point mark this season, scoring in five of the past six games and totaling 12 points in the past 12 games. Edmonton, Florida, Tampa Bay and Vancouver are the only teams with more 60-point contributors this season, with four each.
Fans will have a chance to bid on a game jersey worn by Brian Leitch during the 1994 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Lelands Winter Classic Auction will run until March 16th. … The Rangers had Wednesday off before playing the Lightning on Thursday night.
