{"id":481170,"date":"2026-01-02T18:52:37","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T23:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=481170"},"modified":"2026-01-02T19:00:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T00:00:39","slug":"nhl-rumours-new-york-rangers-defenceman-off-team-usa-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/01\/02\/nhl-rumours-new-york-rangers-defenceman-off-team-usa-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumours: Rangers D-Man Off Team USA Despite Pleas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to this edition of NHL rumours here are <em>Last Word On Hockey<\/em>. In this edition, the chatter focuses on Rangers blueliner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/f\/foxad01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-02_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adam Fox<\/a> and his role, or lack thereof, on Team USA\u2019s Olympic roster. With the American squad\u2019s 25 names dropping on Friday, there\u2019s plenty of speculation regarding the names absent from the list. So, let\u2019s get down to business.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>NHL Rumours: Team USA GM <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/g\/gueribi01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-02_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bill Guerin<\/a> Made Call to Leave Fox off Team USA roster<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><em>Rumour: Rangers defenceman Adam Fox did not make <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/01\/02\/2026-men-team-usa-hockey-winter-olympic-roster-reveal\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Team USA\u2019s roster<\/a> on Friday. It wasn\u2019t an overly surprising move, as NHL rumours had suggested he would not make it. However, it was general manager Bill Guerin who made the call to keep the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2023\/05\/06\/why-adam-fox-should-win-the-norris-trophy\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">former Norris Trophy winner<\/a> off the lineup. Despite Fox and the Rangers&#8217; coaching staff pleading his case, Fox did not make it.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Analysis: Leaving Fox off the Olympic roster is not totally out of the blue. It\u2019s evident that Fox has not been playing up to his usual standards. Plus, his <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/12\/06\/new-york-rangers-star-defenceman-injury-team-plan-analysis\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">recent upper-body injury<\/a> may have called his effectiveness into question.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>However, it was this tweet by Rangers\u2019 beat reporter Peter Baugh that shed even more light on the situation.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Adam Fox said Bill Guerin called him yesterday to tell him he wasn\u2019t on Team USA for the Olympics. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought my play this year was worthy of it and my track record as well, but it\u2019s out of my hands at a certain point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Peter_Baugh\/status\/2006843592103580013?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 1, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Therefore, it seems that the NHL rumours were right insofar as this decision was Guerin\u2019s call. As Emily Kaplan of ESPN had reported, Team USA and Rangers coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/sullimi01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-02_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike Sullivan<\/a> pushed for Fox to be on the squad.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Adam Fox did not make the U.S. Olympic team. Heard New York Rangers personnel involved with Team USA &#8211; GM Chris Drury, coach Mike Sullivan, assistant David Quinn &#8211; all pushed very hard for Fox, but they understood the decision especially given depth USA has on D.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/emilymkaplan\/status\/2006490826759901623?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 31, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>However, Sullivan and his team were unsuccessful in swaying Guerin from leaving Fox off the team. It seems Fox&#8217;s pleading his own case went to avail. Despite Fox feeling he was worthy of an opportunity, he won\u2019t be getting it this time around.<\/p>\n<p>As other NHL rumours had posited, Florida Panthers defenceman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/j\/jonesse01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-02_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Seth Jones<\/a> took Fox\u2019s place on Team USA\u2019s roster. The Florida Panthers blueliner was not on the 4 Nations Face-Off roster. But his role at this spring\u2019s IIHF World Hockey Championships likely catapulted him to a spot on the Olympic squad. You never know when a little extra effort will be rewarded.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Fox\u2019s Mistake Cost Him Spot on US Olympic Team<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6935084\/2026\/01\/02\/united-states-mens-olympic-hockey-roster-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Russo in The Athletic<\/a> noted that it was Fox\u2019s critical mistake on the play that led to the game-winner at the 4 Nations that sealed his fate. Russo wrote the following on the matter:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cBut in the end, the U.S. felt pace of play was an issue for Fox at the 4 Nations and his mistakes on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/mcdavco01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-01-02_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Connor McDavid<\/a>\u2019s championship-winning goal in overtime were embedded in their brain.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the face of play at the Olympics should be at the same level as the NHL game. Despite NHL rumours suggesting the Olympic arena will be smaller than the standard NHL surface, the action should be equally challenging as regular games.<\/p>\n<p>That situation could have prompted Team USA to make good on the prevailing NHL rumours. Guerin and other team members felt someone like Seth Jones gave the US a better shot at beating Canada than Fox.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, Canada and the United States seem to be on a collision course. Whether that will be in the final game or before remains unclear. One thing is certain, Canada has loaded up on a lineup built for tough, tight-checking games. So, that could also be an indication as to why Jones was the choice and not Fox.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to this edition of NHL rumours here are Last Word On Hockey. In this edition, the chatter focuses on Rangers blueliner Adam Fox and his role, or lack thereof, on Team USA\u2019s Olympic roster. With the American squad\u2019s 25 names dropping on Friday, there\u2019s plenty of speculation regarding the names absent from the list. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5716,"featured_media":439431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,4547,304,34,4548,2963,4321],"tags":[2309,617],"class_list":["post-481170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rangers","category-hockey","category-international-hockey","category-news","category-nhl","category-olympics","category-rumours","tag-adam-fox","tag-team-usa"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5716"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481170"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":481184,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481170\/revisions\/481184"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}