The Carolina Hurricanes have traded star defensive prospect Adam Fox to the New York Rangers in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft as well as a conditional third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The conditional third-round pick can become a second-round pick in 2020 if Fox plays more than 30 games in New York next season.
This trade comes just a few weeks after it became known that Fox was opting to forego his contract with Carolina, electing to become a free agent instead. This added fuel to the fire that Fox would be looking to eventually sign a contract with the Rangers as Fox is a native of Jericho, New York.
Fox was originally drafted in the third round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames out of the USHL. With the US National U-17 and U-18 teams, Fox would prove to be an offensive force from the back-end, scoring an impressive five goals and 22 points in 25 games in his draft year.
Fox would be traded to the Hurricanes as a part of the blockbuster deal that saw Dougie Hamilton and Michael Ferland shipped to Carolina in exchange for Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin. While both teams got established NHL veterans in the deal, the Hurricanes were very high on Fox and looked like big winners from this deal largely in part to his inclusion in the deal.
While it’s unfortunate that the Hurricanes were unable to convince Fox to sign with them in the end, it’s still very impressive that they were able to land any sort of compensation for him, let alone a second and third-round pick (which could ultimately become two second-round picks when all is said and done) considering he was likely going to become a Ranger regardless.
Rangers and Fox the Perfect Pairing
For the Rangers, this trade makes sense as they’ve stockpiled so many draft picks in recent years that this deal doesn’t even dent their cupboard. Instead, it gave them an immediate chance to speak to Fox and lock him up to an entry-level contract without the concern that another team would swoop in and work something out.
As reported by Bob McKenzie, Fox and the Rangers would immediately begin discussing terms on an entry-level contract following the trade. This makes sense as both sides ultimately wanted to make this union work.
The Rangers will likely give Fox every opportunity out of training camp to make their roster next season. It’ll be interesting to see if he can crack the opening night lineup or if he’ll need some seasoning in the AHL before ultimately making the jump. Either way, Fox has tremendous upside and looks like he could be a legitimate NHL star for years to come if he can translate to the next level.
The Rangers may be in the middle of a rebuild but they’ve acquire some serious talent over the last few seasons through the draft and through trades such as this one which will almost certainly speed up their timeline, thrusting them into playoff contention sooner than later if everything falls into place as intended.