Canucks Officially Announce Manny Malhotra As 23rd Head Coach In Franchise History
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Manny Malhotra will be the 23rd head coach in Vancouver Canucks franchise history.
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A few weeks after announcing big changes to their management team — naming Ryan Johnson general manager and Daniel and Henrik Sedin co-presidents of hockey operations — the Canucks have promoted Malhotra from head coach of the Abbotsford Canucks to Vancouver. On May 19, Vancouver announced the firings of former Canucks head coach Adam Foote, as well as assistant coaches Kevin Dean, Scott Young, and Brett McLean.
"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 GM Johnson said in a press release today. “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.”
In his first season as Abbotsford’s head coach in 2024–25, Malhotra coached the AHL Canucks to their first Calder Cup championship in franchise history. They finished the regular season with a record of 44–24–2–2, placing second in the AHL’s Pacific Division. Abbotsford did not trail in any of their five series’ during their championship post-season.
The season after saw Abbotsford take a different direction, finishing 29th in the AHL with a record of 28–37–4–3. During this stretch, Abbotsford’s roster went through a great deal of change — injuries to Vancouver in October and November resulted in players coming up from the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings, while Abbotsford suffered their own brunt of injuries throughout 2026.
Malhotra’s history with the Canucks organization predates his most recent stretch as Abbotsford’s head coach. Prior to a four-year stretch in which he was an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Malhotra served as an assistant coach for Vancouver from 2017 to 2020. He first joined the Canucks’ coaching staff as a development coach for the 2016–17 season.
Photo Credit: Kaja Antic-THNAs a player, Malhotra’s time with Vancouver first began in the 2010–11 season, missing Johnson’s playing time with the team by only one season. The now-head coach played for the Canucks for three seasons, including Vancouver’s fateful 2011 Stanley Cup run, before parting ways with the organization from a player standpoint.
Malhotra was believed to have been a finalist for the Canucks’ open head coach position last season, after Rick Tocchet left the organization and ultimately joined the Philadelphia Flyers. Foote, then an assistant coach, ended up with the job instead, taking up the role for only one season before being let go of.
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