Sheffield Steelers boss Aaron Fox closes on final piece to complete 2026-27 roster
AARON FOX may have declared himself “happy” with his summer recruitment – but he still has one last crucial piece to put in place ahead of Sheffield Steelers’ 2026-27 Elite League campaign.
The signing of one-time New York Rangers’ forward Tim Gettinger at the weekend turned a few heads, while completing Fox’s forward group, a week or so on after the addition of Canadian Macoy Erkamps took his tally of defencemen to six.
But Fox is not done yet, keen to add a utility ‘swing’ signing that can offer something at both ends of the ice.
It is the kind of role that treble-winning hero Kevin Tansey performed more and more towards the end of his three years with the Steelers. Before him, Evan Mosey was another quality two-way player who offered a similar option.
Now Tansey has moved on - the 33-year-old left-hander last week signing for Madawaska Valley Wolves in the Northern Premier Hockey League in - Fox is looking for something similar.
It has formed a large part of his thinking throughout the summer as he looks to lead the Steelers to their first success since that treble-winning 2-23-24 season.
He has got down to a shortlist and expects to pull the trigger on the guy he wishes to bring in within the next few days.
Whoever is chosen will be the final piece in the jigsaw of a team Fox believes offers the Steelers a good chance of being successful in the coming months.
“I think we're going to be a really, really deep and fast team,” said Fox. “I think we're bigger, I think we’re a bit younger, definitely a faster team and definitely deeper.
“Bringing Tim in last week, he’s the final forward to join our group - and I'm really looking forward to working with all of them.
“When I'm kind of going through the lines right now, I can tell we're going to have some really, really high-end guys that are playing in our bottom six.
“I'm not done yet, though. I'm still looking for that swing guy - predominantly a defenceman that can play some forward if we have some injuries up front.
“There's still one spot here that I'm working on and that has got to be a guy that is going to come in and push our group and be an important piece.
“And with us having Briner (goaltender, Lucas Brine) this year, I want to find 15-20 games at least for him.
“So that extra import allows him to get in the line-up on those nights and then be that somebody who is just going to push our group that bit harder.
“Injuries happen and we don't want to be shorthanded at all this year.”
Fox said he had deliberately left the decision on his ‘swing’ guy until after he had filled every other spot on his roster. Financial considerations had to be taken into account, he said.
“There's a shortlist now, we’ve worked it down over the last few days,” added Fox.
“I've been waiting on that spot to see what kind of financial situation I'd be in towards the end of the summer with my budget.
“I wanted to make sure that those last two forwards that we signed were premium guys.
“And we feel like we’ve done that and now that I know where I'm at price-range wise, I have narrowed it down to a couple different guys here for that last spot.”
Fox, entering his eighth season as Steelers’ head coach, appreciates the pressure he will be under given the failure to win anything since the memorable league, Cup and play-off triumph of 2023-24.
He will begin to see his players arrive for pre-season from August 22 onwards, the first warm-up games coming a week later in a double-header against a Cardiff Devils team once again coached by former Steelers’ head coach and GM, Paul Thompson.
A home and away weekend follows against Manchester Storm before the campaign truly gets underway when they host Coventry Blaze in the Challenge Cup on Saturday, September 12 before a trip to Guildford Flames in the same competition the following night.
Nottingham Panthers visit the Utilita Arena on September 19 before the regular season league campaign kicks in for the Steelers 24 hours later with a visit to Glasgow Clan.