Throughout this past season for the New York Rangers, if there was one thing all fans could collectively agree on it was the fact that Adam Fox deserved to be nominated for the Norris Trophy.
The Rangers acquired Adam Fox from the Carolina Hurricanes for a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and a conditional third-round pick in the 2020 Draft.
The Norris Trophy is awarded to the best defensive player of that season. Many believe Fox should have been nominated for the Calder Trophy last season, which is awarded to the best rookie of that season, but he was not.
Fox is the first Rangers player to be nominated for the Norris since Brian Leetch, who is also the last Rangers player to win the award.
Fox made a huge impact on the team. He had 42 assists in 55 games. Fox was able to produce both defensively and offensively.
Fox had a total of 102 blocks during the 2020-21 NHL season. Fox showed up to every game and was seen. He has a strong ability for puck management and takeaways, which have saved the Rangers quite a few times.
Fox is still only 23 years old and has been extremely impressive so far. The Rangers already have a fairly young team, with an average age of around 25, but Fox has been a great leader for the defensemen. He will be one of those players that really helps pull the Rangers out of their current slump.
The other Norris candidates include Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, both deserving the nominations for having great seasons.
Fox definitely deserves this trophy, but I think the real competition is Makar. Only voting will tell who the real winner is.
Luckily, Fox is still young and will probably have more Norris nominations in the future.
