Sullivan: Pairing Šmits with Fox is not a permanent solution for now
Latvian defenseman Šmits plays on the third pair for the New York Rangers in his NHL debut season, but sometimes takes the ice alongside team leader Fox. Coach Sullivan says this is about workload management and leaves the door open to using the pairing more often.
Rangers head coach Sullivan has explained how the club is using Latvian defenseman Šmits in the NHL, North America's top professional hockey league. Šmits was selected fifth overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, and this is his debut season in the league. He began it on the Rangers' third defensive pair alongside Brayden Schneider, but in some situations he has also played next to defenseman Fox.
A matter of workload
Sullivan said the rotation of pairs is mainly linked to how players' workloads are shared and to situations following a penalty kill, when a team plays shorthanded. After a penalty kill, the coaches try to manage Fox's ice time. He is able to play shorthanded, but he already spends many minutes on the ice, including in attack, so he is used on the penalty kill only in certain situations.
Šmits' future role
The coach acknowledged that Šmits could take on a bigger role shorthanded in the future. So far the Latvian has not been used much in those situations, but Sullivan believes his skills fit: he defends well, is big and moves well. At the same time, the coach stressed that the young defenseman is still learning a great deal and that the process is not easy, so the team is trying not to give him too many responsibilities too quickly.
Sullivan said that playing Šmits and Fox together is not a permanent solution for now. They tend to appear together mainly in penalty-kill situations, when other players are in the box and the coaches try to get both defensemen back into the game. Whether that changes will be shown by time, and much will depend on how Šmits' play develops. Decisions will be made in the interests of both the player and the team.
