Adam Fox, the 2020-21 Norris Trophy winner who walks with giants named Bobby Orr, Brian Leetch, Doug Harvey and Harry Howell, has consistently credited David Quinn and the Rangers’ coaching staff for his rocket ride to the NHL’s upper echelon after just two years in the league.
That would be the coaching staff that, other than Benoit Allaire, was dismissed in its entirety by incoming president/general manager Chris Drury four days after the season ended.
“Obviously those types of the decisions are for the higher-ups but, of course, the coaching staff, management, everyone involved is helpful in where I’m at,” Fox, who will now play under incoming coach Gerard Gallant and his staff, said via Zoom after being announced Tuesday as winner of the award by Leetch in the league’s virtual ceremony. “Obviously they gave me the opportunity to play and showcase what I can do.
“I think that’s important for any player. Coach Quinn trusted me and I’m grateful for that. We’ve kind of kept in touch a little bit and he’s congratulated me and obviously I wish him and those guys the best. For any player to have success it’s a team effort and those guys definitely played a role in it.”
Fox, who outdistanced Colorado’s Cale Makar and Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman in the voting by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, joins Orr as only the second player in the 67-year history of the award to win it in his second season, and Hall of Famers Harvey, Howell and Leetch as the only Rangers to claim it.
He is also the first Rangers’ major award winner since Henrik Lundqvist took home the Vezina for 2011-12.
“It’s special,” said the 23-year-old Fox. “I’ve been throwing that word around a lot the last few weeks and it’s now accurate for how I feel. You hear your name with [Orr and Leetch], it’s always going to be a special, special thing.”
Fox, who quite famously grew up in Jericho as a devoted Rangers fan in a family of them, was also named to the NHL’s first All-Star team off his splendid sophomore season in which he was named team MVP and won the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award.
The Blueshirts’ righty, who has been paired with Ryan Lindgren on what became the club’s shutdown tandem midway through their respective rookie years, led NHL defensemen with 42 assists while finishing second in points with 47. His 23 points (2-21) on the power play tied for second with Barrie, one behind Hedman (1-23). His peripherals were top of the line.
Numbers, though, may not connote how seamlessly Fox evolved into a two-way All-Star who sees and thinks the game at an elite level. He is just 5-foot-11, 181 pounds, but he is a master at turning plays the other way and initiating transition plays off reads and stick positioning.
“I think from my rookie year to this year I just tried to gain more trust, I think people knew I could be an offensive player but I wanted to have a little more responsibility and obviously was trusted this year killing penalties and being out there in defensive situations a little more,” said Fox, who has never blown his own horn. “I think it helped me.
“I just tried to play my best game-in and game-out and help the team win. I think personal success comes from that. The next step is just team success.”
Originally drafted in the third round and 66th overall by the Flames in 2016 before his rights were sent to Carolina two years later, Fox’s rights were then acquired by the Blueshirts in exchange for a second- and third-rounder on April 30, 2019, after it became apparent that the defenseman would not sign with the Hurricanes and instead was on a path that would have made him an unrestricted free agent in August 2020.
Fox, who will be a leading contender for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team if the NHL indeed goes to the 2022 Games in Beijing, is entering the final year of his entry-level contract. He is eligible for an extension this summer that would kick in starting with 2022-23.
The parties — one, the other or both — might want to wait until this contract expires before getting down to work on the defenseman’s next contract, but it might serve Drury’s purposes to lock in a number on a long-term basis sooner rather than later.
For an initial comparable, the Senators gave Thomas Chabot an eight-year extension at $8 million per in September 2019 while he still had a year remaining under entry level.
Of course, though, Chabot does not have a Norris.