Number Crunch: Rachel Doerrie analyzes Adam Fox’s $66.5 million deal with Rangers

The New York Rangers locked up the 2021 Norris Trophy winner, Adam Fox, to a seven-year contract yesterday and he’ll be among the highest-paid defensemen in the league when the deal kicks in.

On Tuesday’s edition of The Daily Faceoff Show, Rachel Doerrie talked in Number Crunch about why this contract is a win for the New York Rangers. She dove into Fox’s elite production and why she believes it’s sustainable and talked about how he’s been thriving while taking on more difficult matchups and situations.

Doerrie: “I thought it was a fantastic deal. $9.5 million is good money for Fox, but, for the New York Rangers, it’s great to lock up a defensemen of this caliber, one who’s going to be in the Norris Trophy conversation for years to come.

He’s got 0.73 points-per-game, 40 percent of his points come on the power play, so there’s your quarterback one there, and he’s sixth in primary assists among defensemen since he’s come into the league. That’s more of a repeatable stat than, say, secondary assists, so that tells me that he’s going to continue to produce at a pretty high clip.

And then you look at this season, his average time on ice is over 24 minutes, and, what I’ve noticed, is he’s started to play in far more high-leverage situations. He’s playing when they’re down by one, he’s playing when they’re protecting a lead, he’s playing when it’s tied, and he’s taking the lion’s share of the really tough matchups.

He’s consistently going out against the Metro Division’s best players, which includes the likes of Sidney Crosby, Jack Hughes, Mat Barzal and he’s winning the battles.

So, to lock up this guy, a cornerstone of what the New York Rangers want to be for the next half-decade, is just fantastic for both sides.”

You can watch the full episode here (Number Crunch begins at 18:00)…