Mike Sullivan is showing the New York Rangers he isn’t afraid of taking risks. With the Broadway Blueshirts going through testing times in the NHL, the new head coach in The Big Apple announced a bold measure after defenseman Adam Fox was placed on Injured Reserve (IR).
Losing Fox to what’s been reported as a week-to-week injury hurts the Rangers in more ways than one. For starters, Sullivan and company will miss the best blueliner on the roster, who can produce as good as any in both ends of the ice. In addition, being without Fox means the Rangers lose their power play quarterback. The role usually taken up by the best defenseman on the team is now up for grabs. Or rather was.
As the Rangers hit the ice for practice on Monday, Sullivan revealed a bold strategy for the team’s man-advantage situations. As The Athletic’s Peter Baugh reported, New York will roll out a five-forward power play unit. With the likes of Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, Vincent Trocheck, and Will Cuylle, the Rangers hope to cover up for Fox’s absence.
Sullivan makes honest confession on Fox’s potential replacements
Reports suggest Fox is scheduled to return after the new year. As New York enters Christmas season in the NHL without its top blueliner, it will need the rest of the defensemen on the team to step up their game.
Mike Sullivan at Climate Pledge Arena on October 29, 2022 in Seattle, Washington.
On that note, many expected one of Scott Morrow, Braden Schneider, or Vladislav Gavrikov to take over the QB role on the top PP unit. However, Sullivan confessed that asking the blueliners to command the power play may be too much to ask out of them.
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“We don’t think that’s the strength of their games to this point,” Sullivan admitted after the Rangers practiced on Monday, via @Peter_Baugh on X (formerly Twitter).
Rangers must take risks
The way the 2025–26 NHL season has gone for Sullivan and the Rangers, it seems not many things could go any worse. New York’s power play ranks 12th in the league—21.3% of success rate.
At the moment, it’s not among the biggest topics of concern for fans in Manhattan. If anything, there is more room to dip below than to climb up for the man-advantage unit, so running a defenseman-less unit could turn more costly than beneficial.
Having five of their best forwards together on one unit could turn into a true case of putting all the eggs in one basket. The risk–reward is there for New York, but it looks like the Blueshirts know desperate times require desperate measures. Whether the decision pays off or not is a whole different story.
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