Manny Malhotra is walking into his new job with one obvious storyline attached to it: Elias Pettersson.
That connection goes back to a practice snapshot from October 2018, when Malhotra was an assistant coach and Pettersson was the rookie drawing attention in Vancouver. In that moment, the two were caught smiling and laughing together, a small scene that now looks a little more meaningful in hindsight.
Pettersson had arrived from Swedish Hockey League champion Vaxjo HC after putting up 19 points, with 10 goals and nine assists, in 13 playoff games. From there, he exploded into the NHL, finishing 2018-19 with 66 points, including 28 goals and 38 assists, in 71 games and winning the Calder Trophy.
Now the Canucks are hoping Malhotra can help unlock that kind of version of Pettersson again, this time as Vancouver’s new rookie NHL head coach.
There’s a natural fit on paper. Malhotra was a first-round pick himself, taken seventh overall in 1998, and spent 991 games in the NHL with seven different teams.
He made his living in the middle of the ice, excelled at faceoffs, and knows exactly what comes with being expected to produce every night. That background should land with Pettersson, who plays the same position and has spent plenty of time under the spotlight.
Malhotra also had a hand in developing some of the organization’s younger players in Abbotsford, where Linus Karlsson, Max Sasson, Aaty Raty, Arshdeep Bains and blueliner Ellias Pettersson were all trying to become Calder Cup champions and dependable NHL pieces.
Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson said the organization already has a clear sense of what it wants from the new staff and how it wants to operate.
“There’s already a known in what we expect our environment and energy to look like,” Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson told Postmedia News on Tuesday. “Discussions are happening and that helps.
It won’t be a secret of how we play, or more importantly, practise. Guys in our system understand that to get the group on board quickly.”
Johnson also made it clear he wasn’t bothered by Malhotra’s lack of NHL head coaching experience.
“I didn’t have any worry that he didn’t have (NHL) head coach experience,” Johnson stressed of Malhotra. “I knew his values and foundation and there are things you learn on the fly.
Manny is humble in a sense like the rest of us. We’re willing to learn and admit when we make a mistake to not make it a second time.
I have absolute confidence in him and that’s why he was hired.”
At 46, Malhotra inherits a roster in the middle of a rebuild, and Pettersson remains the central name in the conversation. The 27-year-old has been the focus of constant speculation, with multiple teams needing a center.
The Los Angeles Kings are mentioned in the wake of Anze Kopitar’s retirement, while Dylan Larkin has requested a trade from the Detroit Red Wings. There’s also a belief that Pettersson might benefit from a change of scenery, and if Vancouver were to retain salary, a deal could be possible.
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