Canucks hire Manny Malhotra: 'A good teacher, leader, and quality person'
It’s a role that Manny Malhotra was destined for. And on Monday night, the Vancouver Canucks made it official.
The Canucks have hired Malhotra as the 23rd head coach in team history. He’s also the first person of South Asian descent to hold a head coaching role in NHL history.
“Manny and I have been in the battle together before, so I know firsthand what a good teacher, leader, and quality person he is,” said Canucks GM Ryan Johnson.
“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 skillset 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 and I am very confident Manny will help us ice a competitive and hard-working team that our fans will be proud of moving forward.”
Malhotra led the Abbotsford Canucks to a Calder Cup championship in 2025. (AHL)
The 46-year-old has been rumoured to take over the Canucks bench dating back to last spring, before the organization made the decision to promote Adam Foote instead. After Foote’s one-and-done season behind the Canucks bench, Malhotra was reportedly the only candidate who was seriously considered for the job.
You could argue that perhaps the Canucks should have just hired Malhotra as head coach last spring. However, the Canucks horrific season finally forced this team into a long-overdue rebuild.
Now, Malhotra gets to grow with the next wave of young Canucks as the team tries to climb back to relevance.
Malhotra has paid his dues. (@AbbyCanucks/X)
The Mississauga, Ontario, native now has nine years of pro coaching experience under his belt since retiring in 2015. That includes a three-year stint as Canucks assistant coach under Travis Green (2017-2020), four years as an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs (2020-2024), and two years as head coach of the Abbotsford Canucks (2024-2026).
But Malhotra’s knack for coaching goes back further than the past nine years.
“Manny was always coaching while he was playing,” former Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis told Sportsnet back in 2020.
“He took so much accountability to making sure that all of us players were dialled into what systems we were playing, so there were no grey areas. And he would not hesitate to go up to the board and draw a few things on there to make sure that we were listening, questioning, and calling things out that weren’t going well.”
Other ex-Canucks have also lauded Malhotra for his coaching style.
“He doesn’t really focus on a lot of the negative things,” Bo Horvat told Sportsnet. “Obviously, he’ll give you advice, but he also shows you the stuff that you’re doing really well.”
“I think that’s a huge thing when you’re coaching or teaching: positive reinforcement.”
With the amount of drama and turmoil that Canucks players have suffered through over the past couple of seasons, some positive reinforcement would probably be welcomed.
Johnson is set to meet with the media virtually on Tuesday morning, while Malhotra is expected to speak publicly later this week.