The Carolina Hurricanes’ most promising prospect, Adam Fox, has decided to return to Harvard for his senior season, thereby opting out of signing an early entry-level contract with the Hurricanes.
Adam Fox has decided to finish out his education and college hockey career at Harvard University, effectively opting out of signing an early entry-level deal with the Carolina Hurricanes. This decision is completely understandable; a Harvard education is something that I’m sure Fox has worked hard to obtain, and completing his degree program with the lucrative University is honestly a no-brainer.
In addition to being Ivy-League educated, the young defensemen has been widely considered to be the best in his position of all players outside of the NHL; plainly put, his stats speak for themselves. This season, Fox has put up 9 goals and 39 assists for a total of 48 points. Combined with his +26 plus/minus rating, Adam Fox will be NHL-ready by the time he inks his first entry-level contract within the League.
Adam Fox was obtained by the Carolina Hurricanes via a 5-player blockbuster trade in the offseason with the Calgary Flames that brought Dougie Hamilton and Micheal Ferland to Raleigh, and saw Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin shipped out to Calgary.
Per multiple sources, Harvard junior D Adam Fox will return for senior season, opting not to sign with Carolina Hurricanes. Favors becoming free agent next summer. Great news for Crimson and college hockey as a whole.
— Jeff Cox (@jeffcox425) March 26, 2019
The Hurricanes still have the rights to the young blueliner’s contract up until August 15th, 2020, at which point he will become an unrestricted free agent (UFA). At this point, Adam Fox will essentially be able to sign with whichever team he chooses, and he will have plenty of franchises to choose from.
Carolina Hurricanes General Manager, Don Waddell, is still very confident that the Hurricanes will still manage to sign the promising up-and-comer,despite Fox growing up an avid New York Rangers fan. Adam Fox has spoken to the press about the situation, and in his own words:
"“I know people think I have some plan to sign with the [New York] Rangers because of where I grew up. But my dream, my goal, is to play in the NHL as soon as possible.”."
This is good news for the Hurricanes, as Fox has seemingly put to bed the rumor that has been swirling around that he has been holding out for a chance to sign with the New York Rangers. As of right now, the most direct path to the NHL for Adam Fox is to sign an entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.
One thing can be for sure: Adam Fox will make an immediate impact with whatever team he decides to sign for. A two-way defenseman that can contribute as effectively as Fox does on offense, as well as playing an intensely physical brand of hockey is a very rare thing to come by, especially in the pool of prospects likely to make an impact on the NHL in the near future.
Hopefully Don Waddell and the management team can manage to entice Adam Fox to sign with the team. After all, we are on the verge of making the playoffs for the first time in a decade. The Hurricanes are a much better team than in years past, and are currently one of the youngest teams in the league with an average age of 25.6. The future is bright in Raleigh, and Adam Fox would be a huge addition to the team going forward if he does decide to sign with Carolina.
Not to worry, Caniacs, as there is a silver lining to this situation: the Carolina Hurricanes have plenty of time to negotiate with Fox, and the concept of playing alongside players like Sebastian Aho, Dougie Hamilton, and Nino Niederreiter are sure to be a very enticing concept to him. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, Caniacs. Adam Fox is for real, and is a must-sign while we have the opportunity.
Question for CC Readers: What other Carolina Hurricanes prospects do you think are on the path to making an impact in the NHL?