Malhotra looks to instill 'positive mindset' as new Canucks coach

VANCOUVER -- Manny Malhotra knows there will be hard days ahead as the new coach of the rebuilding Vancouver Canucks, but said he believes a cultural reset focused on finding joy in the process and rooted in a consistency of attitude and execution will get them through it. 

The 46-year-old stressed the importance of daily commitment to improving on and off the ice as key to evolving through the early stages of a rebuild when he met with media here Thursday, three days after being hired as the 23rd coach in team history.

Malhotra replaces Adam Foote, who was fired on May 19 after one season in which the Canucks (25-49-8) finished last in the NHL standings. 

“When you look at different teams and how they've gone through it, number one, there's an understanding that there's going to be some tough times, and when you acknowledge that, it makes things easier to go through,” Malhotra said when asked about a rebuild. “That’s not to say we are going to be accepting of those tough times. 

"It's going to be within those times that we will see the character of our group, we will see what we're made of, and it'll teach us resiliency. It'll teach us how to turn things when they aren't quite going your way, and how to maintain that positive mindset, and work through things. The underlying message with all those teams that have gone through it is consistency and staying the course and believing in what you're doing and executing on those things on the daily.” 

Malhotra, who played 16 NHL seasons from 1998-2015, lived those tough times recently as coach of the Canucks’ American Hockey League affiliate in Abbotsford. 

After going 44-24-2-2 and winning the Calder Cup AHL Championship in his first year as coach in Abbotsford in 2024-25, Malhotra went 28-37-4-3 last season amid a myriad of injuries and NHL call-ups that depleted the Abbotsford lineup, and the team did not qualify for the AHL playoffs as a result.

New Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson, who first hired Malhotra in the AHL as the Abbotsford general manager at the time, pointed to the job he did in that trying second season as a key factor in hiring him to his first NHL head coaching job. And Malhotra believes lessons from last season in the AHL should apply next season in the NHL.

“It was a very humbling year, and you understand winning is difficult, Malhotra said. "Winning consistently is very difficult. The takeaways were, as I talked about having quality body language and energy, you have to live it. It's easy to be in a great mood when things are going well and you're winning playoff rounds, and everybody's on a high. 

"It's the ability to find that energy and present the right body language when things aren't going right, and for us as a staff we knew we were we're in a much different predicament but our focus was to maintain that same level of emotion, the same level of preparation, the same level of energy coming to the rink every day, and I think that messaging got through to the guys. 

“And obviously the record didn't show it, we didn't quite have the season that we did the year before, but within our facility, and within the growth of some of our young guys, you could see the same lessons that were applied in Year 1 being applied in Year 2. You did see the growth and development. You saw the evolution of a lot of guys' games.”

Malhotra is familiar with the pressures that come with playing in Vancouver, having played for the Canucks from 2011-14. 

Selected by the New York Rangers with the No. 7 pick in the 1998 NHL Draft, he developed into a strong two-way center and finished his playing career with 295 points (116 goals, 179 assists) in 991 regular-season games with the Rangers, Dallas Stars, Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks, Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens, and two goals in 35 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Malhotra retired in 2016 and returned to the Canucks as a player development coach, then worked as an assistant coach from 2017-20 before leaving to be an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs for four seasons through 2024. In addition to his familiarity with Johnson, Malhotra played with franchise icons Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin, who were named new co-presidents of hockey operations on May 14 and introduced Johnson on the same day as their first hire as general manager. 

“Vancouver and this organization have a very special place in my heart,” Malhotra said. “All my kids were born on the West Coast. As a player, being a part of some very special years here, playing alongside some incredibly special players, some Hall of Fame players, there's that element to it. There is the element of knowing how passionate the fans are here about their Canucks and knowing that it matters here. Hockey matters to these people, and they want to see a product that is deserving of their approval and their fan-ship.” 

Malhotra is believed to be the first NHL head coach of South Asian descent after being the NHL’s second player of South Asian descent. 

“I understand the implications and how special it is," he said, "and very similar to when I was here as a player, I gave the same answer: My first thought and my foremost thought is that I just want to be the best coach that I can be. At the time, it was I wanted to be the best player I can be, not the best coach of South Asian descent. That continues to be my mindset. 

"When I step back and look at the big picture, and you put it into context, I see the importance and I understand the importance that for the South Asian community it is a big deal. I have incredible support from them out in Abbotsford constantly, people saying how proud they were to see somebody of my background getting to the heights that I was, so I understand the importance of it, but I don't put a great deal of emphasis on it. My No. 1 goal is to be the best coach I can be for the Vancouver Canucks.”