NEW YORK — Of all the skaters on the New York Rangers, no one is more irreplaceable than Adam Fox. He plays more minutes than anyone else. He’s as steady and reliable as any other Ranger. He drives offense close to as well as anyone on the team. He is a true No. 1 defenseman.

Now the team is without him for multiple weeks. Fox suffered a left-shoulder injury after taking a Brandon Hagel hit into the boards Saturday and is going on long-term injured reserve. Per colleague Vincent Z. Mercogliano, the team plans to designate the injury as week-to-week and reevaluate around Christmas.

Fox, who has 26 points in 27 games, is fourth in the league with a 10.1 Net Rating, per Hockey Stat Cards. The next closest Rangers skater, Artemi Panarin, is at 4.5.

The injury is a brutal blow for a Rangers team already struggling to stay afloat. Per colleague Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, the Rangers had a 42 percent chance to make the playoffs with a fully healthy Fox. That drops to 37 percent if he misses 10 games and 32 percent if he misses 20. General manager Chris Drury made 2025-26 a win-now season by acquiring 32-year-old J.T. Miller in January and signing Vladislav Gavrikov in July. If New York can’t weather the storm without Fox — and there’s plenty of reason to doubt it, given a 13-12-2 record and brutal play on home ice — it will be facing a second consecutive season without a playoff berth.

Good teams can withstand their best players going down. Just look at the top two clubs in the Metro: the New Jersey Devils have survived without Jack Hughes (hand injury), and the Carolina Hurricanes keep chugging along without top defenseman Jaccob Slavin, who has played only two games this year because of a lower-body injury. Meanwhile, the Rangers have already seen how hard it was to withstand an injury to Vincent Trocheck earlier this year, going .500 (6-6-2) in the games he missed. Their roster lacks depth, which the Fox injury will continue to expose.

The Rangers don’t have other defensemen like Fox. He’s their only threat from the back end to provide consistent offense. Gavrikov is the next closest defenseman to him in points with 11. None of the others have more than five.

Coach Mike Sullivan already showed a hesitancy to trust defensemen in offensive situations when Fox went down against Tampa Bay. He played five forwards on the power play, then six forwards when the Rangers were trying to mount a comeback at six-on-five. Gavrikov and Braden Schneider stayed on the bench in those situations. Scott Morrow, a healthy scratch against Tampa Bay, could provide an offensive option, but Sullivan hasn’t trusted him readily this season. The 23-year-old has averaged only 13:37 of ice time in his four NHL games this year. This could be a good opportunity for him, but New York can’t expect him to bring as much as Fox to the power play.

New York won’t only miss Fox when trying to generate goals. He’s been a vital part of the Rangers’ much-improved defense this season. Only Gavrikov has played against more difficult offensive opponents, per Luszczyszyn’s model. Will Borgen and Schneider will both have to take on tougher matchups with him out.

The Rangers could realistically dig a close-to-insurmountable playoff hole while Fox is out. If they do, Drury is going to face difficult decisions about how to handle the roster. Disappointing results might necessitate change to the Rangers’ core group of forwards in their early-to-mid-30s: Miller, Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad are all 32, while Artemi Panarin is 34. Owner James Dolan doesn’t seem like the type who would green-light another full rebuild, but Drury could try getting a head start on 2026-27 by acquiring young players or draft picks that could be traded for win-now players over the summer.

Panarin has a full no-movement clause and is a pending unrestricted free agent. If extension talks between him and the club don’t accelerate and the team’s playoff odds continue to drop, Drury has to consider approaching him about waiving it. New York would get a sizable return for him, even if he’s just a rental for a contender.

Given the number of teams looking for centers, Trocheck could also bring back a haul. He has a 12-team no-trade list and is under contract through 2028-29 at a manageable $5.625 million average annual value. If the Rangers can get a package akin to the New York Islanders’ haul for 2C Brock Nelson last deadline (a first-round pick and prospect Calum Ritchie) the front office must listen.

These aren’t decisions the Rangers need to make now. Sullivan and his players could rally without Fox and remain within striking distance of a postseason spot. But Drury and team brass have to at least consider the possibility of another season getting away from them. The longer Fox is out, the more possible that becomes.