On Tuesday, the Rangers bolstered their blue line by acquiring the rights to 21-year-old Hobey Baker finalist Adam Fox. In all likelihood, the Rangers will sign Fox to a deal that would see him forgo his senior year at Harvard.
The expectation is that the Rangers and Fox will soon put the finishing touches on an entry-level contract. Fox tallied 116 points through 97 collegiate games for the Crimson – and he will arrive at Madison Square Garden with high expectations on his back.
Rangers fans are salivating over a future roster that includes Fox and K'Andre Miller carrying the puck with speed from the back end, Vitali Kravtsov lighting the lamp and Igor Shestyorkin defending the net.
General manager Jeff Gorton is in the process of delivering a high-aiming roster to head coach David Quinn. The future certainly appears to be bright when you add these aforementioned prospects to an under-24 group that includes Pavel Buchnevich, Filip Chytil, Brett Howden, Libor Hajek, Tony DeAngelo, Brendan Lemieux, Lias Andersson, a considerable number of promising youngsters in the system and a slew of early picks in the 2019 draft.
Look around at the most dominant teams of the decade. The Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings and Washington Capitals had to break it down and build it back up. These franchises endured hard times after the turn of the millennium, which allowed them to draft elite talents on the path to Stanley Cup glory.
The Rangers were in a similar position after missing the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons between 1998 and 2004. Several swing-and-miss first-round picks charted a different course for the Blueshirts until a seventh-round gem in Henrik Lundqvist emerged following the 2004-05 lockout and steered the franchise in a winning direction.
Eventually, Lundqvist will pass the torch to Shestyorkin, and it seems probable that the 23-year-old netminder will inherit a team that is more realistically built for runs at the Cup than the deep but superstar-starved rosters that Lundqvist carried to improbable heights.
By flipping the switch to a youth-focused rebuild toward the end of Lundqvist's peak, the Rangers abandoned the annual restocking of high-priced veterans who provided mixed results.
Now, the challenge will be maximizing the potential of a vast pool of prospects. Quinn and his staff propelled several Rangers, namely Buchnevich and DeAngelo to a level that former coach Alain Vigneault and his staff were unable.
The Rangers will be set up for an era of success and could draw enviable stares from around the league if the full potential of Fox, Kravtsov, Miller, Shestyorkin and co. can be realized.
Follow Sean on Twitter at @HartnettHockey
