The Rangers finished November strong, and have won both games in December including a big comeback win against the Dallas Stars. Unfortunately, their best defenceman will not be available after an injury. Losing Adam Fox will hurt, especially as they enter a crucial part of the season. What can the Rangers do now, and do they have a replacement for Fox?
Details on Adam Fox’s injury
The Rangers placed Adam Fox on the long-term injured reserve list (LTIR) last week after he suffered an upper-body injury after a check from the Lightning’s Brandon Hagel. The injury doesn’t appear to be long-term, according to this report from ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. However, he is expected to be reevaluated around Christmas, meaning that the Rangers will be without their number one defenceman for almost all of December, if not longer.
The impact on the team will be big as New York heads into the most important month of the season. The Rangers play some tough opponents this month including Vegas, Carolina and Colorado. New York also has some big games in terms of standings, including the Islanders and the aforementioned Hurricanes. Matchups against Washington and Philadelphia will be important as well.
With no Fox, what can the Rangers do to try and replace his production, or at least remain competitive without arguably one of their most, if not the most, important player on the team?
How to Replace Fox
For the Rangers, losing Adam Fox to injury, hurts a lot. If New York still had K’Andre Miller, this loss might hurt a little less, but he’s now on Carolina. So, who can the Rangers use instead? There are several potential replacements on the roster with a bunch of different flavors.
The first player worth mentioning is young defenceman Braden Schneider. Schneider isn’t too much of an offensive threat, with only 6 points in 28 games. Even so, Schneider will see more minutes as he is a good, reliable defenseman with a heavy shot from the point. He’s not the greatest skater, but he can patrol the blueline with confidence, and a big shot that opposing defenses will need to account for.
Scott Morrow is a very interesting name to add to this conversation too. Morrow is young at 23 years old, but he has plenty of confidence on the blueline. He moves the puck well, and he’s a very sound skater. Morrow was acquired from the Hurricanes in the Ke’Andre Miller trade, where the Rangers easily could’ve gotten another pick. New York has faith in the youngster, and given that he was recently called up, he could see more minutes and maybe some powerplay time if he plays well enough.
Will Borgen will see increased time on ice as well. Borgen is not an offensive player, but he is solid defensively. Borgen was acquired by the Rangers in the Kappo Kakko trade, and he earned a nice extension in that offseason as well. He won’t get time on the power play, but he may see time shorthanded and will definitely see more time in five-on-five.
With those names in mind, how have the Rangers been playing without Fox?
Results So Far
The answer is pretty well actually. Of course, it has only been two games since Fox went down, but the Rangers have won both of them, including a massive comeback win at home in overtime against the Stars where Dallas was the heavy favorite. Vladisav Gavrikov has been a revelation for the Rangers blueline, bringing a consistent shutdown defenseman, and he also scored the game winner against Dallas. He scored an impressive goal against the Senators in a 4-2 win as well.
GAVI
pic.twitter.com/NfCIdc8BCl
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 5, 2025
In terms of the powerplay, the Rangers are simply running five forwards, bringing William Cuylle back up to the first line. There are other teams in the league that run their powerplay like this, and New York is following suit. Teams usually do this when they don’t have a defenceman they can trust on the powerplay. The Rangers feel that is the case for them, and it hasn’t hurt them yet.
Even so, the Rangers are a worse team without Adam Fox, and now they will look towards their other defenseman to fill the gap. In an important time of the season, it’s up to the coaching staff to not get complacent and keep New York focused on putting the right foot forward.
Main Photo Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
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