Rangers’ Chris Drury shutting down Adam Fox trade inquiries

New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury has already made a couple of big moves this offseason, acquiring 37-goal scorer Pavel Dorofeyev and signing him to a long-term contract extension, as well as finally trading veteran center Vincent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth.

It doesn’t look like any other blockbuster moves are imminent, although teams have been calling about star defenseman Adam Fox, as reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on Monday.

The hockey insider reports that the Blueshirts have firmly rebuffed inquiries regarding the availability of the 28-year-old. According to Friedman, multiple teams checked on Fox’s availability, but Drury quickly shut down those conversations, effectively telling interested clubs to “get lost.”

There was some speculation that Fox wasn’t happy being left off of Team USA’s roster at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan; Drury and New York head coach Mike Sullivan were two of the top decision-makers when assembling the roster.

Still, Fox is the Rangers’ most important player not named Igor Shesterkin, and the price to pry him out of the Big Apple would likely be astronomical, if Friedman’s reporting is accurate.

The 2021 Norris Trophy winner still managed 52 points in just 55 regular-season games despite missing time with injury after recording at least 70 points in three of the previous four years.

Fox has three campaigns remaining on a contract that will pay him $9.5 million in AAV. The Jericho, New York native was originally selected in the third round of the 2016 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames.

It’s hard to gauge what kind of team the Rangers will be in 2026-27 after a last-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Not having Trocheck or Artemi Panarin on the roster will hurt, but there are still good pieces up and down the lineup.

With the addition of Dorofeyev — as well as defenseman Sean Durzi in the Trocheck trade — New York could be one of the more difficult teams to scout going forward.

But holding onto Fox does send a clear message: despite last season’s disappointing finish, the Rangers still view themselves as a team built to contend rather than rebuild.