AHL coach Manny Malhotra promoted to lead Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks named Manny Malhotra as their next head coach late Monday.

Malhotra, 46, coached Abbotsford -- the Canucks' American Hockey League affiliate -- to its first Calder Cup title in the 2024-25 season. He replaces Adam Foote, who was fired May 19 after a single season behind the bench.

"Manny and I have been in the battle together before, so I know firsthand what a good teacher, leader, and quality person he is," Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson said. "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 coached Abbotsford for two seasons. In his first year, the team was 44-24-2-2 en route to the title. In the recently concluded season, Abbotsford finished out of the playoffs with a 28-37-4-3 record.

The Canucks finished last in the NHL in 2025-26 with a 25-49-8 record. They were last in goals against per game with 3.83 while averaging just 2.56 goals (tied for 30th). They also were last in penalty kill (71.5%) and goal differential (minus-100).

Malhotra played 16 seasons in the NHL (1998-2015) and appeared in 991 regular-season games with seven teams. One of his stops was with the Canucks (2011-14). A center, he tallied 295 points (116 goals, 179 assists).

After his retirement as a player, Malhotra was a development coach for one season (2016-17) before spending three seasons as an assistant coach. He held the same role with the Toronto Maple Leafs (2020-24) before taking over at Abbotsford.

--Field Level Media