Time, place align as Canucks hire Manny Malhotra as new head coach

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Ryan Johnson knew when he hired Manny Malhotra to run the AHL bench in Abbotsford that he would become an NHL head coach.

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But where? And when?

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The answer is Vancouver and the time is now.

Malhotra officially became the 23rd head coach in Canucks franchise history on Monday to supplant the fired Adam Foote and guide the long and arduous roster rebuild. That required commitment from ownership and co-presidents of hockey operations in Henrik and Daniel Sedin.

“He wants to be an NHL coach and we discussed his path — it was an open conversation,” Johnson told this reporter of that meeting of the minds with Malhotra when he served as Abbotsford general manager. “I go through a pretty thorough process in my hiring and I hope they become the next whatever.

“I tell people that if they’re still here after eight years I’ve done something wrong. They want to elevate but that may not be here.”

Malhotra was always the front-runner here and he’s aligned again with Johnson, who was promoted to Canucks GM in the hockey operations department restructuring. He knows better than anyone what makes Malhotra effective. He proved it by guiding Abbotsford to the Calder Cup crown in 2025 in his first season running a professional bench.

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“Manny and I have been in the battle together before, so I know first hand what a good teacher, leader, and quality person he is,” Johnson said in a press release. “Connection, consistency and putting in place the proper foundation will be key for our group moving forward. Manny is a great coach who has the right skill set and mentality to help players develop and get better each day.

“We both believe that pressure is a privilege, and learning to become a good pro takes patience, dedication, and a ‘be better than yesterday’ mindset. He loves the game and getting to know what makes his players tick. I am very confident Manny will help us ice a competitive and hard-working team that our fans will be proud of.”

Maybe Malhotra can even reach centre Elias Pettersson on another level for the Swede to regain his stature as a more prominent and productive NHL player.

The Dallas Stars had a level of interest in Malhotra before bringing Glen Gulutzan back to run the bench this season. And the Toronto Maple Leafs wouldn’t be doing due diligence without wondering if they could have moved Malhotra away from the west coast.

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Malhotra was also a finalist to replace Rick Tocchet before the Canucks opted to elevate Foote to rookie head coach status.

“I have to give Manny a lot of credit,” Johnson also told this reporter. “He has playing and coaching experience at the NHL level, but the AHL is a different animal. He adapted very quickly. One of the biggest challenges when you have inconsistency is consistency.”

Especially when your hands can be tied to strike the balance between player development and winning. No player wants to be in the AHL, they all want to be in “The Show.” Malhotra showed them the way. He guided seven players expected to be on the parent club’s roster next fall by getting them to reach another level with execution and encouragement.

The big picture was always in focus for the 46-year-old Malhotra, a former gritty NHL centre and faceoff specialist who played 991 games in seven league stops, including 159 with the Canucks from 2010 to 2010. He would graduate to player development and assistant coach for three years here and four more years in the same capacity with the Maple Leafs.

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The challenge in Vancouver is immense.

Name a category and the last-lace and injury-ravaged Canucks struggled this torturous season. They couldn’t defend and allowed the most goals and had the worst penalty kill. They scored the second fewest goals.

If that wasn’t bad enough, they set franchise records for futility with an 11-game losing streak and a disturbing 9-27-5 home ice free fall that convinced ownership that a roster rebuild was imperative. That alone offered hope of better times for a frenetic fan base that now has reason for optimism amid all the constant dread.

And now it’s up to Malhotra to provide the instruction, influence and inspiration to make the roster rebuild road less rocky.

bkuzma@postmedia.com

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