Adam Fox

New York Rangers news and notes: Final roster remains undecided

by

The New York Rangers training camp is entering its last week and head coach Gerard Gallant still has some tough decisions to make to get his roster to 23 players.

The New York Rangers split their two games this weekend.  On Friday night the team was embarrassed in a 7-1 loss in New Jersey against the Devils. The Blueshirts rebounded the following night in Boston as they won that contest 4-3 in overtime.

The coaching staff along with general manager Chris Drury has been hard at work putting the pieces together they feel will bring the best results when the season begins in just 10 days.

Roster Moves

Prior to Friday’s game against the Devils, the club announced that following being placed on waivers Anthony Greco, Jonny Brodzinski, Ty Ronning, Tim Gettinger, Anthony Bitetto, and Keith Kinkaid to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Sunday saw more moves as the Rangers begin to see how their team will look for the final two preseason games this week.

The team cut its training camp roster down to 27 players as Will Cuylle has been assigned to his junior team, the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Matthew Robertson, Braden Schneider, Lauri Pajuniemi, Tyler Wall, and Adam Huska have been assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).

The Rangers have 27 players remaining in Training Camp. The roster breakdown is listed below:

FORWARDS (16)

10 – Artemi Panarin
13 – Alexis Lafrenière
14 – Greg McKegg
15 – Julien Gauthier
16 – Ryan Strome
17 – Kevin Rooney
20 – Chris Kreider
21 – Barclay Goodrow
24 – Kaapo Kakko
29 – Dryden Hunt
47 – Morgan Barron
72 – Filip Chytil
74 – Vitali Kravtsov
75 – Ryan Reaves
91 – Sammy Blais
93 – Mika Zibanejad

DEFENSEMEN (9)

5 – Jarred Tinordi
6 – Zac Jones
8 – Jacob Trouba
12 – Patrik Nemeth
23 – Adam Fox
25 – Libor Hajek
55 – Ryan Lindgren
64 – Nils Lundkvist
79 – K’Andre Miller

GOALTENDERS (2)

31 – Igor Shesterkin
40 – Alexandar Georgiev

Upcoming Games

On Wednesday the Rangers will host the Devils at the Garden with a 7 p.m. faceoff. The preseason schedule concludes in Bridgeport, CT. where the team will play the Islanders.

Head coach Gallant still has not announced who the third defensive pairing will be or who the extra roster players will be once the season starts.  That should become clearer this week as the Blueshirts work out the kinks and fine-tune the team to be ready for opening night on Oct.13 in Washington.

Foco to release New York Rangers’ Adam Fox Norris Trophy bobblehead

by

New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox will be the focus of the next bobblehead to be released by sports memorabilia company Foco.

Foco has announced they will be releasing its next bobblehead, one which every New York Rangers fan will definitely want to get their hands on.

The sports memorabilia’s next bobblehead will be of the 2021 Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox. The New York Rangers defenseman won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman when the league awards were announced during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Fox won the Norris Trophy in only his second NHL season. He is just the second NHL defenseman to win the trophy in his second year. The 23-year-old played in 55 games last season registering 42 assists with 47 points.

The eight-inch bobblehead, limited to 221 pieces, has Fox in his home white uniform. He is standing on a black platform with gold trim, a New York Rangers logo is on the front with the words “2020 Norris Trophy Winner Adam Fox” written under it. To the right of him is the Norris Trophy and to his left is his number 23 in gold.

The bobblehead will be available to purchase on September 23 at 12 p.m. Their website can be found at www.Foco.com

Fans can also follow Foco on their Twitter account @Focousa

 

Rangers Head Coach talks about training camp, line combinations and a Captain

by

New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant had his first press conference on Thursday afternoon.

The New York Rangers began their training camp on Wednesday morning with players reporting for physicals and media day activities.

Day one of camp is uneventful for the team as a whole, with the lone highlight of the head coach’s first official press conference of the season. Gallant sat in front of the New York Media as they questioned him on varying topics.

The Elephant In The Room

Gallant didn’t waste any time when the question of who would be the next captain of the Blueshirts.

“If I was a betting man, I think we’re gonna have a captain on day 1”.

He did acknowledge that having a captain is a priority but wasn’t sure of the exact timing of when the captain would be named.

Gallant is an “old school” coach as was evident when he was talking about systems coach’s use in the National Hockey League. He emphasized the system is not as important as the player’s ability to “buy in” to the schemes the coaching staff put in front of them.

“Let’s be honest: Everybody has their systems, (but) there’s not a big difference in NHL teams. A lot of us do the same things. It’s about executing them and believing.. and getting 23 guys to buy in.” – Vince Mercogliano

Line Combinations

The head coach is looking for a fresh start to of lines, though he hasn’t ruled anything out. He wants to look at placing Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad on the same lines, possibly moving Alexis Lafreniere to the right wing to get him more ice time, and would he dare split up Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren?

Training camp is a way for the coaching staff to see what works well and what doesn’t. No lines are etched in stone, and Gallant will use at least the first four games to try different line combinations and defensive pairings to judge what works and what ideas need to be trashed.

The plan is to have his 23 roster players and the line combinations set for the end of the preseason.

Thursday morning will be the first practice for the team under their new head coach. It begins in the team’s Tarrytown facility at 10 am.  The players will be divided into three teams plus a squad of goalies and follow this schedule;

Team 1 & 2 Scrimmage…10:00-11:40 AM
Team 3 Goalies on ice…1:00-1:30 PM
Team 3 Practice…1:30-3:15 PM

A new era is beginning in New York with high expectations. Gallant has plenty of work to do in his quest to make this team a tough opponent to play against.

Defenseman Nils Lundkvist is ready to begin his first training camp with the Rangers

by

The New York Rangers begin training camp on Wednesday, and all eyes will be on defenseman Nils Lundkvist. Is a roster spot his to lose?

The day has finally arrived. New York Rangers hockey has returned with players reporting to training camp for physicals on Wednesday.

With a few roster spots available, the competition to make the lineup on opening night is sure to be intense. On the blue line, the club is looking for a third-pair combination.

It appears that Lundkvist has secured a place on the roster, and it’s his to lose once practice begins on Thursday.

First Round Pick

Lundkvist was the Rangers’ first-round pick (28th overall) in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

General Manager and President Chris Drury gleamed with confidence when he spoke of Lundkvist before the development camp began two weeks ago.

“We’re having exhibition games, we’re having a tryout, and it wouldn’t surprise me if at the end of it he’s standing there on our team,” Rangers general manager Chris Drury said to Dan Rosen of NHL.com. “We’re certainly excited.”

The Pitea, Sweden, native played in the Lulea organization in Sweden. He set career highs in goals (14) and points (32) in 2021 as he won the Salming Trophy awarded to the top Sweden-born defenseman in the SHL.

Lundkvist was considering North America last year but decided another year in the SHL would be better for him and his development.

“It’s a big step just coming here and move overseas too,” Lundkvist said this month at Rangers development camp. “With the COVID situation last year, I think it was a good decision to play back home again.”

In A Good Place

Rangers director of player development Jed Ortmeyer likes what he has seen so far of Lundkvist. He sees some comparisons to last years Norris Trophy winner and Rangers teammate Adam Fox,

“He reads the play well. He knows when to jump in offensively. He’s got a heavy shot and an accurate shot. He scored a lot of goals for his team in Sweden from the point. He can generate offense for his team but he can also play against other team’s top lines and shut them down. I think the overall game that Adam Fox has, the way he thinks, there could be some similarities there for sure, but we’ll see when the puck drops.”

The organization has been successful with the last two rookie defensemen to get a full-time spot with the team. Two years ago Adam Fox took center stage, and last season K’Andre Miller shined bright under the Broadway lights.

Can the Rangers score a hat trick with Lundkvist? Sunday’s first preseason game could indicate how things will play out for the young player.

New York Rangers’ Adam Fox wins Norris Trophy as best defenseman

by

New York Rangers’ Adam Fox has won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman.

Adam Fox has won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman. The award was announced by the 1994 Stanley Cup Champion and two-time Norris winner Brian Leetch.

Fox finished second among defensemen with 47 points (five goals, 42 assists), He was plus-19 in 55 games and led the Rangers in average ice time per game (24:42), more than three minutes more than defenseman Jacob Trouba, who was second (21:29).

 

“There’s definitely too many people to thank just from growing up, youth hockey coaches, skill coaches, skating coaches, everyone who helped me get to this point,” Fox said. “Of course, the Rangers organization just allowing me to play and giving me the opportunity, of course my teammates. It’s an individual award, but without those guys none of it’s possible.”

NHL.com

A first-time finalist for the award, Fox is the fourth different Rangers player to win the award and first since Brian Leetch in 1996-97. Doug Harvey (1961-62), Harry Howell (1966-67), and Leetch (also 1991-92) are the others.

Rangers’ Adam Fox named Norris Trophy finalist

by

The NHL anounced New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox has been named a Norris Trophy finalist along with Tampa Bay Lightning Victor Hedman and Colorado Avalanche Cale Makar.

New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox was named a Norris Trophy Finalist on Wednesday morning. The award is given annually to the defenseman voted to have demonstrated throughout the season the greatest all-around ability at the position.

 

The 23-year-old finished second among defensemen in scoring with 47 points (five goals, 42 assists) and was plus-19 in 55 games. He led the New York Rangers in average ice time per game (24:42) and was first among Rangers skaters in power-play ice time per game (3:45) and shorthanded ice time per game (2:36).

Fox has been compared to former Stanley Cup Champion Brian Leetch throughout his young career so it is no surprise to read that he would be the team’s first Norris Trophy winner since Leetch won the award in the 1996-’97 season.

The NHL has not set a definitive date as to when the winner will be announced other than to say it will happen during the semi-finals or Stankey Cup Finals.

Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi won the Norris Trophy last season.

New York Rangers Announce Ryan Lindgren Extension and Team Awards

by

Chris Drury has started to assemble the New York Rangers for next season by agreeing to terms with defenseman Ryan Lindgren on a three-year contract. The contract is reported to be at the $3 million AAV.

The 23-year-old Lindgren skated in 51 games with the Rangers this season. He registered one goal and 15 assists for 16 points, along with a plus-20 rating and 35 penalty minutes.

He was one of only three Rangers who recorded 90 or more hits and 50 or more blocked shots this season. At the time he suffered an upper-body injury on Apr. 29, Lindgren was one of only four Rangers (and the only defenseman) who played in each of the team’s first 51 games of the 2020-21 season. He ranked second on the Rangers in average shorthanded ice time this season (2:30), and he currently ranks fifth in the NHL (min. 115:00 of shorthanded ice time) in power-play goals against per 60 minutes of shorthanded ice time in 2020-21 (4.22). Lindgren was not on the ice for a power-play goal against in 20 consecutive games from Jan. 24 at Pittsburgh to Mar. 9 at Pittsburgh (51:30 of shorthanded ice time over the span).

Lindgren also receives a team award from the New York Rangers

The New York Rangers also announced their team award winners for the 2020-21 season today. Adam Fox was named the Rangers’ Most Valuable Player, Lindgren was named the recipient of the Players’ Player Award, and Brendan Smith was named the winner of the John Halligan Good Guy Award.

The Players’ Player Award in 2020-21, which is given annually to the Ranger who, as selected by his teammates, “best exemplifies what it means to be a team player.” Lindgren established career-highs in several categories in 2020-21, including assists, points, plus/minus rating, and hits (98), and he led the team in plus/minus rating this season.

The Most Valuable Player Award was voted on by members of the New York Rangers media and has been given annually since the conclusion of the 1941-42 season. Fox has won the award for the first time in his career. He is the first Ranger who has won the award in one of his first two seasons in the NHL since Henrik Lundqvist in 2006-07, and the first Rangers skater who has done so since Brian Leetch in 1988-89. Fox, who also won the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award in 2020-21, became the seventh Ranger to be named the Team’s MVP (as chosen by the media) and to receive the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award (as chosen by the fans) since 1987-88, which was the first year the Steven McDonald Extra Award was presented.

The John Halligan Good Guy Award recognizes a player for their cooperation with the media throughout the season. The award has been presented annually since the 1974-75 season and was renamed in 2009-10 to honor the team’s late public relations director. The award recipient is chosen by members of the media who cover the Rangers throughout the season.

Smith skated in 48 games with the Rangers this season, registering five goals and five assists for 10 points, along with a plus-three rating and 73 penalty minutes. He established a career-high in penalties drawn (25) and tied his career-high in goals this season, and he leads NHL defensemen in penalties drawn in 2020-21. The Rangers posted a 25-19-4 record in the 48 games that Smith played this season.

 

 

New York Rangers face the Washington Capitals as playoff elimination nears

by

The New York Rangers face the Washington Capitals Monday night mathematically still in the playoff hunt but realistically looking towards next season.

Rangers: 26-20-6 (58 pts)
Capitals: 32-14-5 (69 pts

With only four games reaming in the regular season, the New York Rangers welcome the Capitals to MSG Monday night. The Blueshirts will try to rebound following two horrific games against the Islanders where they were shut out in both contests.

The Numbers

The Rangers are 6-4 in their last ten games, 3-3 in their last six games, and currently have lost their last 2 consecutive games.

Power Play:

  • The Rangers were 0-for-2 (4:00) on May 1 at NY Islanders.
  • New York is tied for 13th in the NHL in power-play efficiency this season (21.1%).
  • The Rangers have recorded a power-play goal in three of the last five games (4-for-12; 33.3%).
  • The Blueshirts have tallied eight power-play goals in the last nine games (8-for-25; 32.0%) and 20 power-play goals in the last 22 games (20-for-62; 32.3%).
  • Since Mar. 22, the Rangers’ 32.3% power play efficiency is the second-best in the NHL.
  • New York ranks third in the NHL in power-play opportunities in 2020-21 (171).r

Penalty Kill:

  • The Rangers were 1-for-1 (2:00) on May 1 at NY Islanders.
  • The Blueshirts have not allowed a power-play goal in 30 of the last 45 games (111-for-130; 85.4%), including 24 of the last 38 games (89-for-107; 83.2%).
  • The Rangers have killed off 114 of their opponents’ 134 power-play opportunities over the last 46 games (85.1%) and have held their opponents to only 174 shots on goal during their opponents’ 134 power-play opportunities over the span.
  • New York ranks seventh in the NHL in penalty kill efficiency this season (83.1%).
  • The Rangers are tied for second in the NHL in shorthanded goals in 2020-21 (eight).
  • Since Jan. 30, the Rangers’ 85.4% penalty kill efficiency is tied for the second-best in the NHL.

Since Mar. 17, several Rangers are among the NHL’s leaders in various categories:

  • Mika Zibanejad’s 17 goals are tied for the most in the NHL and his 35 points are the second-most in the NHL.
  • Adam Fox’s 29 assists are the most in the NHL, his plus-18 rating is tied for the second-best in the NHL, and his 32 points are the fifth-most in the NHL.
  • Artemi Panarin’s 23 assists are the third-most in the NHL and his 34 points are tied for the third-most in the NHL.
  • Ryan Strome’s 22 assists are tied for the fourth-most in the NHL.

The Adam Fox Effect

Adam Fox tied for the NHL lead in assists in April after leading the NHL in assists in March. According to NHL Stats and Information, he was the first defenseman who either led the NHL or tied for the NHL lead in assists in two consecutive calendar months since Paul Coffey in February and March of 1984. Fox leads NHL defensemen in points (47) and assists (42), ranks third in takeaways (33) and is tied for 10th in plus/minus rating (plus-20) in 2020-21. He has recorded 47 points and a plus-20 rating in 51 games this season after recording 42 points and a plus-22 rating in 70 games last season; only one defenseman in NHL history has recorded 40 or more points and a plus-20 rating or better in each of his first two seasons (Bourque). Fox is averaging 0.82 assists per game this season, which would be the seventh-most by a Rangers defenseman in one season (min. two games played) in franchise history (Leetch – 1.00 in 1991-92; Zubov – 0.99 in 1993-94; Leetch – 0.90 in 1990-91; Leetch – 0.85 in 1995-96; Leetch – 0.83 in 1992-93; Park – 0.83 in 1972-73). According to NHL Stats and Information, only seven defensemen in NHL history have averaged at least 0.80 assists per game in a season while 23 years old or younger (min. 50 games played): Orr (3x), Coffey (3x), Leetch (2x), Zubov, Suter, Potvin, and Bourque. Fox won the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award this season.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

  • Pavel Buchnevich – 2 games away from 300 in his NHL career/with the Rangers.
  • Phillip Di Giuseppe – 2 games away from 200 in his NHL career.
  • Mika Zibanejad – 4 goals away from 200 in his NHL career.

The Rangers will conclude their home regular-season schedule on Wednesday night when they host the Washington Capitals.  The Blueshirts will then travel to the Boston Bruins for the last two games of the regular season with games on May 6 and May 8.

Stats provided by NYR PR.

Follow Frank on Twitter @RangerProud

The New York Rangers will need this for success next season

by

Last night’s loss to the New York Islanders demonstrated one thing about the young New York Rangers: they still have not learned to win big games yet.

This fact became very apparent in the loss to the Isles as the young Blueshirts were manhandled up and down the ice by the veteran rivals.

“They were just on top of us,” Adam Fox said in his post-game Zoom conference. “They were moving a little quicker and cycling the puck real well and just keeping us in the D zone. It was definitely tough to get odd-man chances, or really second chance opportunities, so credit them for that.”

Of course, most of this is that the Islanders are a veteran, playoff battle-tested team. They have had enough players learn how to win big games and make that part of their team’s DNA.

Not so much for the Rangers.

Fox added, “but you can just see the sustained O-zone that they had and retrieving pucks and stuff like that,” he added. “It’s definitely things that we could use in our game.”

The young New York Rangers will need to learn how to win important games.

The first step to this might be learning how to win close games.

Going into last week’s game against the Flyers, the Rangers had dropped 14 of 18 one-goal games, posting a 4-8-6 record. Then they lost that game on April 22 by….you guessed it, a goal.

Head coach David Quinn touched on what his team need’s to do to succeed in big games against good teams. “I think we’ve got to learn from them and do some of the things they (the Islanders) do, a little bit of a mentality that they have, that, you know, they never beat themselves, Quinn said in his post-game Zoom conference. “Now, we’re also built differently, so we’re going to have the ability maybe to score some goals that other teams don’t. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do all the things other teams can do. That’s what we’ve got to get better at. We’ve got to understand situational hockey better and not get frustrated.”

According to sports psychology expert Dr. Patrick Cohen, most teams fail to win the big game because of expectation and pressure. Cohen also states that teams and players need to prepare for championship moments all season. Practice championship scenarios, and imagine those moments so when you are in those situations. You feel like you have been there before.

This is not new to most in the New York Rangers staff or most staff in most high levels of sports.

It is just something that takes a while to develop, especially with a team as young as the New York Rangers.

Some of these young Rangers will get a chance to start learning this at the NHL level. Injuries to Chris Kreider, Ryan Lindgren, and Brett Howden will lead to more playing time. Saturday night’s game still has some importance. While the playoff door has not quite closed, it may be all but shut and locked with a loss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York Rangers Shutout in Disappointing Loss to the Islanders

by

The New York Ranger’s path to the playoffs just ran into a dead end. Semyon Varlamov stopped 25 shots as the New York Islanders shut out the Rangers by the score of 4-0.

With Boston’s win tonight, the Rangers are now six points behind the Bruins. The Rangers have five games remaining and Boston has six, including two against each other.

In a last-ditch effort to get back into the game, the Rangers pulled Igor Shesterkin for a 6-on-4 advantage with about 7 minutes left and trailing 3-0. However, Mathew Barzal came out of the penalty box, picked up a loose puck, and scored into an empty net with 5:34 left.

Shesterkin finished with 23 saves, falling to 0-4-1 in five starts against the Islanders.

The New York Rangers loss to the Islanders was “demoralizing”

Adam Fox described how bad the loss was for the Rangers in his post-game Zoom conference. “Any loss at this part of the season is going to be demoralizing. We still have some games left and it’s a tough situation we put ourselves in but we are going to keep playing hard and try to get some wins.”

Before the game, Fox was named the winner of the 2020-21 Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award. The Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award is presented annually to the Ranger who, as chosen by the fans, “goes above and beyond the call of duty.” The award, which has been given annually since the 1987-88 season, bears the name of devoted Blueshirt fan and New York City Police Detective Steven McDonald, who was shot and injured in the line of duty on July 12, 1986, and passed away on January 10, 2017.

Head coach David Quinn echoed Fox’s statements in his post-game conference. “It’s just disappointing overall. When that team gets a lead they are really tough. I just didn’t love the feel after they scored their first goal. The way they played, it made a long night for us. There wasn’t much to like about our game in any capacity.”

The Rangers and Islanders meet again Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum.