Canucks’ head coaching job coming down to Adam Foote or Manny Malhotra: reports

Reports from Elliotte Friedman on Monday suggested the Canucks’ search was down to three or four names, mentioning Malhotra and Marco Sturm as the front runners. With today’s news, reports indicate that Foote has surpassed Sturm in the pecking order.

With multiple head coaches, on the market with plenty of NHL experience, the Canucks seem to be leaning toward a first-year NHL head coach for this hire.

Both Malhotra and Foote have spent time behind an NHL bench.

Foote was a defensive coach for the Avalanche from 2011-2017, and was named assistant coach for the last two seasons in Vancouver under Rick Tocchet.

Malhotra is more experienced within the Canucks organization, joining the team as a development coach in 2016 and was promoted to assistant coach in 2017. Malhotra then earned a shot as an assistant coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2020, spending four seasons there before taking over for Jeremy Colliton in Abbotsford.

One difference between the two is that Foote has head coaching experience. Foote was the head coach of the Kelowna Rockets from 2018-2020, during their rebuild. The Rockets finished with a 57-60-6-5 record under Foote, and was let go after two seasons.

While neither option has NHL head coaching experience, they both bring plenty of NHL playing experience to the table.

Malhotra was drafted seventh overall in the 1998 NHL draft by the New York Rangers. He made the Rangers out of training camp and finished his rookie season with eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in 73 games. Malhotra spent his first four seasons in New York before bouncing around the next nine seasons with the Dallas Stars, Columbus Blue Jackets and San Jose Sharks before he found his way to Vancouver.

The Canucks signed Malhotra to a three-year, $7.5 million contract worth an average annual value (AAV) of $2.5 million. During his three years in Vancouver, Malhotra played a third-line centre role, most known for his dominance in the faceoff circle. He finished with a 61.83% faceoff percentage, adding 18 goals and 30 assists for 48 points in 159 games.

Malhotra coached the Abbotsford Canucks to their best season in franchise history, both in terms of record (44-24-4) and playoffs, as they are set to kick off their Pacific Division finals series against the Colorado Eagles on Friday.

Foote was drafted with the first pick of the second round in the 1989 NHL draft by the Quebec Nordiques. He would make his NHL debut two seasons later with the Nordiques and stayed with the franchise through their relocation to Colorado.

The defensive defenceman spent the first 13 years with the Nordiques/Avalanche organization before signing a three-year, $13.8 million contract (worth $4.6 million AAV) with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Foote spent three seasons in Columbus before being traded back to Colorado for a first-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick if he re-signed with the Avalanche.

Adam Foote was given permission to speak with other teams once Tocchet decided to move on, but is now a prime candidate to be his former boss’s successor. While a decision likely won’t be announced until after the Manny Malhotra-led Abbotsford Canucks playoff run, the Canucks have narrowed their search down to these two internal options.