If the Canucks falter under first year head coach Adam Foote, there’s always Manny Malhotra.
Cynical, but realistic.
Foote reportedly has a three-year deal, so unless the upcoming season is a complete disaster, under most circumstances he’s likely to get a second kick at it. Malhotra will be on stand-by, now under contract in Abbotsford for two more seasons.
With the Canucks picking up the Calder Cup winning coach’s option for 2026-’27 in Abby, Malhotra becomes candidate number-one in Vancouver should things fall short moving forward.
Plus he’s already interviewed for the gig.
“His work ethic, passion, and partnership with our NHL staff was a big reason why our group in Abbotsford won a Calder Cup, and why the players we called up to Vancouver during the season fit into our system so well,” Canucks GM Patrik Allvin said in a press release. “We are extremely happy to have Manny extend his time with the hockey club.”
He also has a rich history with the Canucks as a two-way center on a team that won the President’s Trophy in 2011. An eye injury in March of that year limited him to 72 regular season games, but he battled back from multiple surgeries to play in six games of the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins. Malhotra was a well respected and beloved face-off guru, among other things.
He has seven years under his belt as an assistant coach in the big show, including three in Vancouver from 2017 to 2020.
Does it means Malhotra is locked up and “stuck”? Not necessarily. Should Vancouver make the playoffs under Foote, and everything’s honky dory with the big club, and Malhotra gets a fat offer to head coach another NHL team, he’d be packing his bags.
The team wouldn’t hold him back, just like they didn’t hold Rick Tocchet to his option year as he left for the Philadelphia Flyers, despite ridiculous initial reports to the contrary.
The club knows it’s bad business to try and keep someone where they don’t want to be when there’s a bigger offer elsewhere.
That said, should the Canucks slip and fall this winter, Manny could be the man. Foote’s wiggle room will shrink.
At some point in the not-so-distant future, Malhotra will get his crack at an NHL head job. Should it be in Vancouver, we’ll refrain for now from making Dan Bylsma comparisons; the latest example of a coach being “called up” to the big club after success with an AHL affiliate, only to fall flat on his face with the Kraken. No point in going there.
By the way, should Foote struggle this season and/or next, it won’t only be the Vancouver coaches on the hot seat. The general manager’s job insecurity will crescendo.
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