The 2020-21 season was the year of the Fox.

After joining Bobby Orr as the second defenseman to win the Norris Trophy before his third NHL campaign, New York Rangers dynamo Adam Fox is ready to juggle higher expectations for himself and his young team as a new season looms.

The first item on his checklist? Make the playoffs.

"You can only say you're a young team for so long, or you're only in a developmental phase for so long," Fox said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "We have pieces and a lot of really good players, so I think it's probably playoffs or it's a disappointing year for a lot of guys. It starts in camp and gelling together."

Fox didn't go so far as to say it was playoffs or bust for the Rangers. However, he said the squad needs to start moving out of the rebuild phase that the franchise first announced in 2018.

"We should definitely take a step forward," Fox said. "We've been a young team for the past few years and it only gets better with more experience."

Fox will lead New York's youthful defense corps this season - three of its top-four defensemen are aged 23 and under, with 21-year-old Nils Lundkvist vying for a spot on the third pair. The Rangers' forward group is a bit more balanced, with veterans like Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, and Chris Kreider evening out the inexperience of Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko.

At the helm of it all is new coach Gerard Gallant, who Fox is "definitely excited" to play for.

"I've heard nothing but good things about him," he said. "I can't speak too much to the systems. We haven't gotten going with that. But you see the success he's had with Vegas, and I haven't heard someone say a bad word about him."

The puck drops on the Rangers' season on Oct. 13 against the Washington Capitals.

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Jacob Markstrom is looking to bounce back after a disappointing 2021 season, and possessing one of the coolest masks in the NHL is a good start.

Mask artist Jordon Bourgeault shared his design for the Calgary Flames goaltender's new headgear Wednesday. It prominently displays a flaming skull, includes nods to some of the team's past netminders, and has an "inside joke" that presumably pokes fun at current Flames defenseman Chris Tanev.

Markstrom wore the mask seen below last season in his first campaign with Calgary.

The 31-year-old went 22-19-2 with a .904 save percentage while starting all 43 games he played in 2021. Markstrom's minus-5.83 goals saved above expected and minus-0.99 goals saved above average at five-on-five ranked 70th and 53rd in the NHL, respectively, according to Evolving Hockey.

The Swedish puck-stopper signed a six-year pact with the Flames carrying an average annual value of $6 million in October 2020.

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The Arizona Coyotes named veteran executive John Ferguson Jr. assistant general manager, the team announced Wednesday.

Ferguson spent the past seven seasons as the Boston Bruins executive director of player personnel and general manager of the AHL's Providence Bruins. His duties with the Coyotes will include running their farm team, the Tucson Roadrunners.

"We are very pleased to name John as our new assistant general manager," GM Bill Armstrong said. "John is extremely knowledgeable about the game and with 20-plus years in the NHL, brings a tremendous amount of experience to our hockey operations department. We are thrilled to have him join our team and I am looking forward to working with him."

Ferguson's executive career has included stints with the St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, and Toronto Maple Leafs, where he was vice president and general manager for four seasons.

The 54-year-old also helped guide Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2007 world championship.

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Connor McDavid expressed a sense of urgency when asked Tuesday about his patience level amid the Edmonton Oilers' retooling process.

"Definitely thinking the time is now," the reigning Hart Trophy winner said. "(I'm) 24 years old, (Darnell Nurse) and (Leon Draisaitl) are 25, 26, (and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is) 28, so the old excuse (that) we're young guys is no longer."

McDavid credited Oilers general manager Ken Holland for his offseason transactions and said the onus is now on the players to win.

"Kenny's done his job, gone out, and gotten pieces and added some things ... it's on us now to put the thing together," McDavid said.

Holland acquired forwards Zach Hyman, Warren Foegele, and Derek Ryan over the summer, along with defensemen Duncan Keith and Cody Ceci.

"More veteran guys ... some older voices, some guys that have been around and played in some big scenarios and games, and I just noticed that right off the top," McDavid added.

In June, the superstar center became the first player since Wayne Gretzky in 1981-82 to unanimously claim MVP honors. He led the NHL with 105 points in 56 games, and Draisaitl finished second with 84. McDavid also ranked second in the league in goals (33) and finished first in assists (72), racking up 19 more than Draisaitl, who placed second in that category as well.

The Oilers made the playoffs in each of the last two campaigns but lost in the first round in April after falling in the qualifying stage of the 2020 postseason. Edmonton hasn't reached the second round since 2016-17, when the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Oilers in seven games to advance to the Western Conference Final.

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Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland believes his club will blossom from playoff hopefuls to Stanley Cup threats this upcoming season.

"The time is now," Holland said, per Sportsnet's Mark Spector. "In my mind, the time to try and take a step. We've been 12th in the league, 11th in the league. But the aspirations are far greater than that."

He continued: "The Stanley Cup doesn't just happen. You evolve, you grow. You have multiple chances. You have disappointments.

"In '93, '94, '95 we couldn't get it done in Detroit. By '98 we had the blueprint and the recipe."

The Oilers finished second in the North Division last season, but were stunned in a first-round sweep by the Winnipeg Jets. A year prior, Edmonton was eliminated in the play-in round by the 12th-seeded Chicago Blackhawks.

Holland had a busy offseason trying to rectify the club's playoff woes, bringing in Zach Hyman, Warren Foegele, Duncan Keith, and Cody Ceci to reinforce the lineup. He also re-signed Ryan-Nugent Hopkins as well as Tyson Barrie and gave Darnell Nurse a lucrative eight-year extension.

"I wanted to bring in some people who have won before," Holland said. "(Zach) Hyman is 29, Foegele is 25 - they're in the prime of their careers. Duncan Keith is going to have a lesser role (than Chicago), but he's bringing in his resume. He's played in lots of situations at the international level and National Hockey League level. He's been brought in for what he can do on and off the ice."

NHL training camps open next week. The Oilers' regular season commences Oct. 13.

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Turner Sports revealed its full talent roster Tuesday for its coverage of the 2021-22 NHL season.

Paul Bissonnette, a former NHL enforcer who rose to fame with his humor on Twitter, is joining the network as a studio analyst. Bissonnette has served as a color analyst for the Arizona Coyotes' radio broadcasts and co-hosts the popular "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast.

Joining Bissonnette as studio analysts are former NHL 30-goal scorer Anson Carter, Stanley Cup champion forward and ex-Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet, and, as previously announced, Wayne Gretzky.

Liam McHugh will work as a studio host, Brendan Burke will do play-by-play, and former NHLers Darren Pang and Keith Jones will serve as color analysts. Jackie Redmond, Tarik El-Bashir, and three-time Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Botterill were hired as reporters.

Kenny Albert and Eddie Olczyk, as previously announced, will serve as TNT's lead broadcast team as they did this past season with NBC.

Turner Sports signed a seven-year contract reportedly worth $225 million per season for the "B package" of the NHL's media rights. ESPN, whose talent roster can be seen here, secured the "A package."

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The St. Louis Blues re-signed center Tyler Bozak to a one-year deal worth the league minimum $750,000, the club announced Tuesday.

Bozak is taking a significant pay cut from his previous contract, which paid him $5 million annually.

The 35-year-old veteran remained productive during an injury-riddled 2020-21 campaign, producing at a 0.55 point per game clip with five goals and 12 assists in 31 contests. He averaged a career-low 14:55 per game.

Bozak, as he's been throughout his 12-year career, was highly efficient in the faceoff circle last year, winning 56.8% of his draws.

The Regina, Saskatchewan, product will be entering his fourth campaign with the Blues after spending his first nine NHL seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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