Luke Fox

Toronto

Staff Writer and Managing Digital Editor at Sportsnet Canada

nhl writer @sportsnet. author of ice-t shot me in the face & eleven other stories about rap music. freelance music writer.

Articles

'He’s on the dark side now': Panthers-turned-Maple Leafs sharpen fangs

1 week ago | sportsnet.ca | Luke Fox

TORONTO — The first time the three Panthers-turned-Maple Leafs returned to Florida was wildly different than the second time. In late November, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Anthony Stolarz and Steven Lorentz flew back to Fort Lauderdale wearing blue and were greeted by sapphires of the same shade. Oh, there were yellow sapphires, too. Thirty-seven of them. And 16 red princess-cut rubies, one for every victory en route to their 2024 Stanley Cup championship.
‘Thought I was done’: Pacioretty punches Maple Leafs' ticket to Round 2

1 week ago | sportsnet.ca | Luke Fox

KANATA, Ont. — Max Pacioretty thought about quitting hockey. He was barely playing anyhow. A whopping five games in 2022-23 with Carolina. Another 47, but only four goals, in 2023-24 with Washington. He had suffered two Achilles injuries within six months and spent consecutive summers swallowed by rehab and doctors’ visits before he inked a tryout with the Toronto Maple Leafs. One last chance to latch himself to a contender and chase a Stanley Cup.
Game 6 Notebook: Berube promotes Pacioretty as pressure spikes for Maple Leafs

1 week ago | sportsnet.ca | Luke Fox

KANATA, Ont. — Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. The Toronto Maple Leafs’ offence is struggling to generate high-danger scoring chances in closeout games. Shut out at home Tuesday, Craig Berube and his staff deliberated over lineup changes to the forward group heading into Game 6 in Ottawa. They have decided to keep the fresh legs of David Kämpf and Nick Robertson (who has a history of scoring after healthy scratches) on the shelf, however.
Are Maple Leafs ready to battle demons in Ottawa?

2 weeks ago | bvmsports.com | Luke Fox

"They have demons. Demons in their cars. Demons in their heads. Demons under the bed. Everywhere they look is a f--' demon!" -Paul MacLean, former Maple Leafs assistant coach, 2021 OTTAWA - The worst collapse and most favourable playoff path for these Toronto Maple Leafs (until proven otherwise) took place four years ago. It was documented inside and out by embedded Amazon Prime cameras.
'No reason to panic': Are Maple Leafs ready to battle demons in Ottawa?

2 weeks ago | sportsnet.ca | Luke Fox

“They have demons. Demons in their cars. Demons in their heads. Demons under the bed. Everywhere they look is a f------' demon!” —Paul MacLean, former Maple Leafs assistant coach, 2021OTTAWA — The worst collapse and most favourable playoff path for these Toronto Maple Leafs (until proven otherwise) took place four years ago. It was documented inside and out by embedded Amazon Prime cameras.
Time for Maple Leafs' superstars to stomp out Senators

2 weeks ago | sportsnet.ca | Luke Fox

TORONTO — The captain’s actions spoke louder than his words. In that infuriating moment after Auston Matthews’ power-play turnover triggered a shorthanded counterstrike and a lead too great to overcome, after the Toronto Maple Leafs squandered their second great opportunity to be the last Ontario team standing, Matthews stood up and snapped his stick with force on the home bench. Then chucked away the expensive shards. A flash of elimination-game frustration in a career full of the stuff.
Game 5 Notebook: Maple Leafs not concerned about Matthews' health

2 weeks ago | sportsnet.ca | Luke Fox

TORONTO — If a jolt of panic shot through Leafs Nation Monday morning when Auston Matthews didn’t show up for practice, we can’t blame any fan whose mind spiralled to worst-case scenario. Just one year ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs' No. 1 centre missed Games 5 and 6 of the first round due to a secret ailment. And only five months ago, Matthews' undisclosed “day to day” upper-body injury swelled into 27 days between game action and a round-trip flight to visit a specialist in Munich.
‘Gotta follow through’: Maple Leafs miss golden chance to sweep Senators

2 weeks ago | sportsnet.ca | Luke Fox

KANATA, Ont. — The Toronto Maple Leafs had a hammer cocked and aimed at the final nail in the Ottawa Senators’ coffin. But, alas, this is an elimination game, and these are the Maple Leafs, and nothing comes easy in late April. Even when the second round — and a week’s rest — is so close you can taste it.
Game 4 Notebook: Maple Leafs can’t give Senators any life

2 weeks ago | sportsnet.ca | Luke Fox

KANATA, Ont. — Finish him!Say it like Mortal Kombat. The Toronto Maple Leafs have their opponent on the mat. They are staring down at a wounded animal. Time to sweep the leg or deliver some other violent final blow, lest they give the Ottawa Senators a hint of life. Riding an eight-game win streak, they’ve already looked different. More controlled and composed. The transition from stretch run to divisional title to 3-0 Round 1 lead has been uncharacteristically smooth.
Warmupgate takes attention away from Senators' Stolarz problem in series vs. Leafs

2 weeks ago | sportsnet.ca | Luke Fox

KANATA, Ont. — Shenanigans? The surfacing of a grainy video and calls to the league? A juicy plot twist to what has been a rather lopsided Battle of Ontario? Or, perhaps — more realistically — Warmupgate in the nation’s capital is just a big, fat, juicy nothingburger. When grilled at the Canadian Tire Centre podium Friday morning about Ottawa Senators agitator Nick Cousins flipping a puck at Anthony Stolarz’s net in the warmup prior to Game 3, head coach Travis Green jokingly pled the fifth.