SEATTLE — Saturday night will mark just the third time Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren square off against one another as opponents. The longtime friends, who met as teenagers in the U.S. National Team Development Program, have not lined up on opposite sides of the ice since their college days during the 2017-18 season.
Back then, Lindgren and the University of Minnesota defeated Fox and Harvard in a back-to-back series in November. The Gophers first took a 4-2 victory before emerging with a 2-1 overtime win in the following game.
After reuniting and playing parts of six seasons together in New York, Saturday’s matchup will be the first time the two face off as NHL players since the Rangers traded Lindgren to Colorado in March.
“It’ll be funny,” Fox told The Post on Friday after practice at Climate Pledge Arena. “I obviously played with him at NTDP and then played against him once in college, and that was fun. It’s more a little bit of bragging rights and stuff. It’s been a while since I played against him. But, you know, he’s great. We’ll see him [Friday night], hang out with him. I mean, there will be knowing Lindgren no friendships on the ice [Saturday night]. It’ll be fun.”
“I think we’re all happy for him, we miss him. But, obviously, we’re more focused on the game, but it’ll be fun to play against him.”
Lindgren hosted a few of his former teammates at his place in Seattle on Friday night. The Rangers will also face Kaapo Kakko for the first time since the club’s second-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft was traded to Seattle in December. Kakko is expected to make his season debut against his former team after recovering from a broken hand suffered during the preseason.
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This season is shaping up as a tour against former Blueshirts, and this is only the beginning. For Fox, however, Saturday’s game feels especially different given his history with Lindgren, who was his longtime defensive partner.
“It was awesome,” Fox said of his friendship with Lindgren. “Obviously, it’s pretty rare in hockey with how many different directions and places you can go that our paths crossed on two different occasions. It’s amazing. He was a groomsman at my wedding and is super close to my family, and his family as well. We lived together for a few years, too. It’s special when you can have friendships like that.”
“Especially with how hockey goes — the business side of it — guys are in and out of different teams. To be with someone as long as we were was pretty cool for me.”
Since Lindgren was traded along with Jimmy Vesey and prospect Hank Kempf to the Avalanche in exchange for Juuso Parssinen, Calvin De Haan, and two conditional 2025 draft picks, Fox and Lindgren have naturally kept in touch. Not only did they live together for two to three years in New York, but their apartments were also next to each other during their rookie season in 2019-20. That proximity eventually led them to become roommates. They have also continued their annual golf trip together every summer.
Fox believes it will feel like nothing has changed when the former teammates reunite on Saturday.
Regarding his new defensive partner, Vladislav Gavrikov, Fox sounded encouraged by their first 12 games together.
“I think we’re defending really well,” Fox said. “Sometimes, especially when you’re at home and facing other teams’ top lines, defending is the priority. We want to maintain that solid defense while also creating more offense, considering how well that side has been going for us.”
“We don’t want to cheat on the defensive side. We’ve been getting chances, too. Anytime you’re with a new partner for the first time, you’re just trying to develop that chemistry, and it takes a lot of communication. I think it’s just gotten better as we’ve gone along.”
https://nypost.com/2025/10/31/sports/adam-fox-excited-for-his-fun-ryan-lindgren-reunion-in-seattle/