When Adam Fox - the Rangers’ top defenseman - got leveled by Brandon Hagel during Tampa Bay’s win over New York, plenty of fans in Madison Square Garden were waiting for the gloves to drop. But no one on the Rangers took a run at Hagel.
No pushback. No retaliation.
Just a clean hit, a stunned crowd, and a lot of chatter afterward about whether this team has the grit to go the distance.
Veteran observers, like longtime NHL analyst Al Greenberg watching from the press box, weren’t shy about their disappointment. Greenberg, like many others, saw the lack of response as a red flag - a sign that this Rangers group might be missing that old-school edge, that bite you expect from a team with championship aspirations.
But here’s the thing: the hit itself? It was textbook.
Legal from top to bottom. Hagel didn’t leave his feet.
His stick stayed down. He didn’t target the head.
He finished through the body, arms, and hands - just like you’d see diagrammed in any high-level coaching clinic. It was the kind of physical play that’s not only allowed in today’s NHL, but encouraged.
If you’re teaching young players how to deliver a clean hit, this one checks every box.
And that’s where the debate gets interesting. Because while the hit was clean, the emotional response - or lack thereof - is what’s drawing scrutiny.
In hockey culture, even legal hits on star players often spark a reaction. Not because the hit was dirty, but because it sends a message: “We protect our guys.”
That’s where some fans and analysts are drawing the line. They’re not questioning the legality - they’re questioning the identity.
One longtime Rangers fan summed it up this way: “I don’t care if it was clean. You go after him anyway. That’s your top guy.”
But is that still the way things work in today’s NHL? Or is that an outdated mindset in a league that’s evolved toward speed, structure, and skill?
The Rangers, for their part, aren’t exactly pushovers. Sam Carrick brings sandpaper to the bottom six.
Will Cuylle doesn’t shy away from the rough stuff. And when Matt Rempe gets back in the lineup, he’s the kind of presence that changes the temperature of a game with one shift.
So the idea that this team is “soft” might be more perception than reality.
Jess Rubenstein, a respected scout who’s been tracking the Rangers closely for years, was asked whether this team lacks toughness. His answer?
Let’s just say it wasn’t a simple yes or no. Rubenstein sees the full picture - not just the lack of a response on one hit, but the overall makeup of a roster that’s built to win with more than just fists.
Bottom line: Brandon Hagel’s hit on Adam Fox was clean. No suspension.
No penalty. Just a hard-nosed hockey play that happened to take down one of the Rangers’ most important players.
And while fans and analysts might have wanted some old-fashioned retribution, the Rangers chose to skate on - a decision that says as much about the modern game as it does about this team’s identity.
Whether that approach pays off in the long run? That’s a storyline worth watching.