Essentially everyone associated with the Rangers last season took a massive hit to their respective reputations. That included Mika Zibanajed, Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, GM Chris Drury and then-head coach Peter Laviolette. 

But perhaps no one took a bigger hit to his reputation than Adam Fox, who before last season was all but sainted, joining Bobby Orr in 2020-21 as the second defenseman in NHL history to win the Norris Trophy in his sophomore season before finishing in the top five of the balloting in each of the following three seasons. He and Cale Makar were the only two constant presences in the top five for those four seasons.

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But not only did Fox’s performance trend the wrong way during the season when he seemed a step slow and prone to losing battles, he had a similarly difficult 4 Nations tournament for Team USA in which his role and ice time diminished as the event evolved. 

The coach of Team USA who made those decisions was Mike Sullivan. This is the same Mike Sullivan who is now head coach of the Rangers. This is the same Mike Sullivan who will reprise his role as bench boss for the Americans in the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan and will have some sway on roster decisions.