WASHINGTON, D.C. — Adam Fox was fine talking about his return from a left-shoulder injury on Wednesday and his desire to be back in time for Friday’s Winter Classic, but he kept it short while addressing his status for the upcoming Olympics in Milan, Italy.

Has the New York Rangers defenseman been told anything regarding the final roster decisions for Team USA?

“No,” he responded following a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena.

So he has no idea about whether he’s made the team or not?

“No,” he said, leaving it at that.

It would seem curious if Fox remained in the dark heading into the new year. The deadline to submit Olympic rosters was Wednesday, with Team USA general manager Bill Guerin telling colleague Michael Russo he intended to inform all players — those who made the cut and those who just missed it — that morning. Perhaps they were waiting to talk to Fox until after the game, but Russo’s final projection predicted that the 27-year-old was due for a disappointing phone call. That’s increasingly become the expectation in NHL circles, but nothing is official until the U.S. announces its team on NBC’s “Today” show on Friday morning.

Even if Fox was being dodgy, his reluctance was understandable. It’s a touchy subject for obvious reasons, starting with the player-coach relationship he’s surely trying to protect with the man in charge of both the Rangers and American benches, Mike Sullivan. And if he did in fact miss the cut, it’s fair to assume he doesn’t want to burn any bridges as the likely first call in the event of injury to any U.S. defensemen in the coming weeks.

But in this safe space, we’re free to call it like it is: leaving one of the NHL’s premier defensemen off the roster would be a big miss on the part of the American decision-makers.

Let me be clear: I don’t think it would be an egregious error if Guerin, Sullivan and the U.S. hierarchy — which includes Rangers GM Chris Drury — choose not to make Fox one of the team’s six regular D. He’s been surpassed by Quinn Hughes, who currently holds the title as best American defenseman, and Zach Werenski for power-play duties, and I can understand the preference to fill out the other four spots with bigger, faster, shutdown types to absorb the physical demands of these tight-checking games. As Guerin has pointed out, it’s not meant to be an All-Star team. There’s strategic value in selecting players to perform specific roles, rather than just picking off the list of the league’s leading scorers.

But no one is going to convince me that Fox shouldn’t at least make the trip as one of Team USA’s two extra defensemen. Bringing one of Seth Jones and Noah Hanifin would suffice as a potential injury replacement for Charlie McAvoy, Jake Sanderson, Jaccob Slavin or Brock Faber, but there’s no better backup PP quarterback option than Fox if Hughes or Werenski were to go down.

It’s possible that Sullivan (and Drury) advocated for that approach and were overruled by Guerin, who has final say on all personnel. Sullivan made a point of pumping Fox up following Tuesday’s practice at Medstar Capitals IcePlex when asked about his pending return for the Washington game.

“He’s had a great start to our season — on the power play, the way he drives offense, our ability to get out of our end, and I think he defends,” the coach said. “I don’t think he gets enough credit with how well he defends. He’s a competitive guy. He defends pretty hard. He’s hockey strong, even though he’s not the biggest guy in the world. He just helps us in so many ways.”

The emphasis on Fox’s defense may have been calculated. Russo reported that “(U.S.) brass was concerned about pace of play being an issue for Fox” at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, specifically mentioning Connor McDavid’s winning goal for Canada in the title game. Fox got caught chasing the puck along the boards and didn’t recover quickly enough to cover the best player in the world in the slot.

There’s no hiding from the fact that Fox had a bad tournament, which is why his spot in the lineup has come into question. But we should be wary of putting more weight into a four-game sample than an elite body of work over an NHL career that spans 459 games, plus another 46 in the playoffs.

Fox made his presence felt immediately upon his return Wednesday, even though he said it took a period or so to “settle in and play a bit more of my game.”

He earned points on both of New York’s first two goals, starting with an assist on Vincent Trocheck’s tally with 39 seconds left in the first period. Later, Fox added a goal of his own with a booming slap shot during a second-period power play. Sullivan said it “might have been the hardest shot I’ve ever seen him take.” (Maybe taking his frustration out on the puck?)

The Rangers’ PP struggled while Fox was out, going 6-for-39 (15.4 percent) across 14 games. But they’re now 1-for-1 with him back in the lineup.

“You can see the impact he has on our team,” Sullivan said.

Fox had been their best player before the injury, as well — by far. He’s the most deserving of an Olympic nod (especially with Russian teammates Vladislav Gavrikov, Artemi Panarin and Igor Shesterkin excluded from the tournament), yet there’s a real chance J.T. Miller and Trocheck will represent the red, white and blue without him.

According to colleague Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, which encapsulates all-around impact, Fox was on pace for a 27.9 net rating over 82 games, which ranks second to only Norris Trophy front-runner and Team Canada selectee Cale Makar. He’s also one of only four NHL defensemen averaging a full point-per-game this season, with 28 (four goals and 24 assists) through 28 games.

You can reasonably place Makar, Hughes and Werenski ahead of him, maybe a few others — Miro Heiskanen? Victor Hedman? Josh Morrissey? Moritz Seider? — but it’s hard to argue Fox isn’t a top-10 defenseman in the world. I’d call it top-five.

How can you leave that guy at home?

Laba, Sheary leave with injuries

While the Rangers got a huge piece back on defense Wednesday, they keep losing people up front.

Miller missed his fifth consecutive game due to a suspected right-shoulder injury, with rookie center Noah Laba (upper-body injury) and veteran winger Conor Sheary (lower body) joining him among the wounded during the second period against the Caps. Laba went down first after receiving a crunching hit from newly announced Team Canada forward Tom Wilson (who proceeded to score the go-ahead goal moments later), with 6-foot-6 Aliaksei Protas later landing on the back of Sheary’s legs to send him to the locker room. Neither returned, with Sullivan saying both were still being evaluated.

The Rangers will have to prepare for the possibility of replacing them for Friday’s outdoor game against the Florida Panthers at LoanDepot Park in Miami. Rookie Brennan Othmann is the only other healthy forward on the roster, but a recall will be necessary if both Laba and Sheary are unavailable. Brett Berard is an obvious option, while veteran Justin Dowling or 21-year-old Dylan Roobroeck could be called upon if they prefer a center.

No matter what the Rangers decide, an already underperforming group of forwards is being stretched even thinner.