Could Team USA snub be impacting Adam Fox's commitment to Rangers?

It takes some reading between the lines here, but that is not exactly an enthusiastic "yes, I want to be here" type of response.

Maybe he was not expecting the question. Maybe he is just frustrated with a season where the Rangers have the worst record in the Eastern Conference and are going to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second year in a row when they were hoping to be Stanley Cup contenders. 

Or maybe he really is having second thoughts. Not just because of the direction of the team, but also perhaps because of a potentially frayed relationship with his new head coach (Mike Sullivan) and general manager (Chris Drury). 

Adam Fox's Team USA snub was controversial 

The layer hidden beneath all of this is that Fox was one of the biggest and most controversial snubs for the United States men's hockey team at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Not only he did he not make the initial roster, one of just two players from the 4 Nation's Face-off team to not make it, but he was also not even the top replacement for Seth Jones (Florida Panthers) when he had to removed from the roster. That was Jackson LaCombe (Anaheim Ducks) who ended up getting the nod.

Sullivan was the head coach of the U.S. team, while Drury was a part of the front-office management team that selected the roster. Given Fox's ability, production and impact, as well as the fact he should have (in theory) had two people in his corner, he was a pretty eye-opening omission. 

It only became more awkward when Sullivan spoke glowingly about the type of players on their gold-medal-winning team, saying they had a bunch of "whisky drinkers" and not "milk drinkers." It was a way of saying they were a no-nonsense team full of toughness. While Team USA rejected the notion, there was a belief that Fox was left off the roster because of a subpar showing in the 4 Nations Face-off, including on Connor McDavid's (Edmonton Oilers) game-winning goal. 

This is, again, speculative in nature. But we have seen Olympic roster decisions ruin relationships between team and player in the past. It was one of the things that forced Martin St. Louis away from the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2014 when Steve Yzerman did not initially take him for the Canadian team. 

Whatever the case, Rangers fans should at least be mildly concerned. Fox is not only their best defenseman and one of their best players, but he is one of the best defensemen in hockey and one of the most impactful. He is, at age 28, also still in the prime of his career with several years of elite hockey ahead of him. Fox essentially forced his way to New York as a prospect and has been a huge part of their team. They need to make sure things get smoothed over to keep him there.