Adam Fox is one of the most desirable players possibly available after the college season is over. Should the New Jersey Devils try and trade for him, or is he dead set on signing with a rival?
Kenny Agostino was claimed off waivers by the New Jersey Devils back on February 11th. He was touted as a New Jersey native, but a quick Google search could show that he was actually a New York Rangers fan growing up. That means the Devils were his rival, but even his parents, life-long Rangers fans, say they will switch their affiliation while their son wears red and black.
Now, don’t worry. You may be thinking you’ve come to the wrong article, but we are getting to touted college hockey star Adam Fox.
Agostino showed that in the right situation, he was more than willing to put aside previous affiliations. Obviously, he didn’t have much of a chance, but there’s a possibility that after playing well, he could re-up with the Devils in the offseason.
Adam Fox is having some serious drama surrounding his decision this offseason. It came out Monday that Fox was unlikely to sign with the Carolina Hurricanes, the team that drafted him, and that he was telling them to trade him. There are a lot of reasons this could be true. Fox may look at the Hurricanes defensive situation and realize there’s no room for him. He might really want to shoot for an NCAA Championship before he leaves Harvard. Or, the rumors could be true and he might only want to play for the Rangers.
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Fox is from Jericho, New York, a small city on Long Island. He grew up rooting hard for the New York Rangers. That likely means, like Agostino, he rooted hard as a child against the New Jersey Devils. If he’s determined to play for the Rangers, he could just play another year of college and sign there as a free agent.
However, the Devils do have a wild card in all this. The Devils could offer him the opportunity to play with his teammate Reilly Walsh on the same defense for a long time. Fox and Walsh both currently play on Harvard’s defense. They could sign right now as a package deal, Fox could get a legit chance to make the NHL, and he knows him and Walsh would be together soon. He will play on a young defense with Will Butcher, Ty Smith, Damon Severson and Sami Vatanen. That’s an amazing core if they all play to their potential. Add in Walsh after a possible year in the AHL for development while Andy Greene‘s contract expires, and this is stacked with young talent.
We don’t need to get too far into how good Fox is. All we need to know is if he became available, the Devils will want him. However, unlike college free agents, the Devils would need to send an asset to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Fox’s services. It’s not going to be a great asset, but it could be the Dallas Stars 3rd-round pick. If it’s any more than that, it might not be worth the headache.
Fox could be a really nice player, and the Devils have a spot on the defense available. What would be even better is taking the carpet from under the Rangers. If they believed Fox was a sure thing going to the Rangers, and the Devils got him, it would make the move so much sweeter.
Again, these are all hypotheticals. If Fox wants to play for the Rangers and Rangers only, it’s not even worth the oxygen Ray Shero would use to make a phone call to Carolina. However, if there’s even a little bit of wiggle room, Shero should try to get Fox to New Jersey. It’s close enough to New York where his parents can always come see him, and he gets to deal with the much easier New Jersey media. It could definitely work.