Did the Rangers Wait Too Long to Re-Sign Adam Fox?

By now you've heard that the Boston Bruins have re-signed their all-star defenseman Charlie McAvoy to an eight-year, $76 million dollar contract extension beginning in 2022-23. For those who didn't bring their calculators with them, that's $9.5 million per year. Or, as we say in New York, "a fuckin' lotta dough."

Just where the Bruins, who are $1.2 million under the cap this season, intend to get that "dough" remains a mystery, especially since Patrice Bergeron, their all-star center, is currently making $6.875 and will be a UFA next summer. But that's their problem.

They say timing is everything. Lost in all the hoopla of the Rangers signing Mika Zibanejad to an eight year, $8.5 million AAV contract is the fact that they have a plethora of pending contracts that will have to be either re-upped or moved over the next couple of seasons. And the biggest of those is Adam Fox, who is in the last year of an entry level contract worth $925,000 per.

With Cale Makar re-signing in Colorado for $9 million per over the summer, the market for defensemen who can score is pretty much set. By waiting as long as they did, the Rangers may have boxed themselves into a corner with their Norris-trophy winner. After the Zibanejad signing, there was some optimism that Chris Drury might be able to persuade Fox to agree to a similar, team-friendly contract. The McAvoy signing pretty much tosses that scenario out the window. At this point, Drury will be lucky if he can get Fox to accept $9 million per. Shit, if Seth Jones is worth $9.5 million, how much is Fox worth?

Welcome to life in the flat salary cap era, or as it's better known in the NHL, the Hunger Games. The Rangers, who for the last three seasons have "enjoyed" the benefits of being among the youngest teams in the league, are about to find out what happens when that youth grows up. In addition to Fox, Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere and K'Andre Miller will all see their ELCs expire over the next two years, and barring something unforeseen, all will be due substantial pay raises. Maybe Vitali Kravtsov did them a solid by going AWOL after all. If they can move him for a 2nd rounder or a serviceable forward with a reasonable cap hit, that'll be one less headache for Drury to deal with next summer.

But getting back to Fox, did you see the way he played Thursday night? It was as if the puck was glued to his stick. If Wayne Gretzky had been a defenseman instead of a center, he would've looked just like Fox. Drury is going to have to bite the bullet here. There are some contracts you don't fuck around with. If he's this good at 23, imagine what he's going to look like two or three years from now. 

Get him signed. Get him signed now! If it takes $9.5 mill per to get it done, then that's what it takes. Fuck it, if it takes $10 mill, do it. In five years, it'll be a bargain. Think about it: right now, Artemi Panarin is the best player on this team. Who knows, in a couple of seasons, Fox might supplant him. He's that good.

I know there are risks involved in assembling a top heavy roster. Just ask the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers. Both teams have a substantial portion of their salary cap tied up in just a few players. And as a result, both have had a hard time acquiring the depth needed to make a serious run at the Cup. I won't lie to you, that fate could await the Rangers.

But the greater risk, in my opinion, would be letting a generational player like Fox walk because you want the "freedom" to pursue lesser players that, and let's be honest, can be had in any given off season. Yes, the Tampa Bay Lightning would not have won either of their two Stanley Cups if they didn't have foot soldiers like Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman in the trenches; but they would never have gotten close if they didn't have world-class talent like Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. You need both types of players to win a championship these days.

Adam Fox is the best defenseman the Rangers have had since the days of Brian Leetch. Hell, he might even be better. Chris Drury must make every effort to ensure he never plays for another organization.

Henrik Lundqvist Calls It a Career

I won't mince words here. Henrik Lundqvist was the greatest Ranger NOT to win a Stanley Cup in the history of the franchise. There, I said it, and the facts bear me out. Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield, Rod Gilbert, Brad Park and Ed Giacomin were all a part of the best Rangers team since the days of Lester Patrick, and while all were outstanding players in their own right, none were on the same level as the King.

Lundqvist wasn't just the best player for a Rangers team that flirted with the Cup for several years; he was the best goaltender in the NHL for most of his 15-year playing career. Among his peers, only Carey Price ranks as a close second.

And yet this first ballot Hall of Famer never once drank from the chalice of champions. That's because as great as he was, the team he played on just didn't have that one elite player who could make a difference in a tough, seven-game series. 

In 2014, the year the Rangers went to the Cup finals, they lost to a Los Angeles Kings team that had Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty; the following year when they won the President's Trophy, they were bested in the conference finals by a Tampa Bay Lightning team that had Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. 

A goalie can do many things, but he can't constantly be his team's best player. As brilliant as Andrei Vasilevsky is for the Lightning, he isn't their best player. Neither was Mike Richter back in 1994. He had Mark Messier, Brian Leetch and Adam Graves on that team; poor Hank had Derek Stephan, Rick Nash and Ryan McDonagh. Who would you wanna have playing in front of you?

When I heard that Lundqvist was retiring, my heart was heavy. On the one hand, I will treasure each and every save he made; on the other, I will grieve for what might've been. This mountain of a man might be at peace over his decision to hang up his skates, as Larry Brooks wrote in The New York Post, but for the millions of us who bleed blue, we will never get over the missed opportunities. 

Consider that during the reign of Lundqvist, the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins each won three Cups; the LA Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning won two; while the Detroit Red Wings, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues won one a piece. And what did the Rangers accomplish? Two trips to the conference finals and one to the Cup finals, that's what.

Now you know why this moment is so bittersweet. The best goalie of his generation will leave the sport he loved without so much as one lousy ring. He deserved a better fate than the one the organization he called his home for 15 years gave him. True he isn't the only elite player not to win a championship. Dan Marino played 17 seasons for the Miami Dolphins without winning a Super Bowl, so it does happen. Greatness is no guarantee of postseason success. The sports gods can be cruel when they want to be.

But all that's of little consequence to a franchise that since 1940 has won the Cup once. Henrik Lundqvist gave this team a shot at a championship every season he played for them. And for that, all of us should be grateful. I know I am.

So long, Hank. In the words of Bob Hope, thanks for the memories.