The list of names for possible head coach candidates has gotten one name smaller for the Toronto Maple Leafs as the Vancouver Canucks hired Manny Malhotra on Monday.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will need to cross another name off their list of head coach candidates. Late on Monday night, the Vancouver Canucks hired Manny Malhotra to replace Adam Foote, who was fired on May 19.
Malhotra is a highly sought-after coach around the league, and the Maple Leafs weren't the only team that was likely interested in acquiring his services behind their NHL bench.
Vancouver's latest hire has spent the past two seasons coaching in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks, the American League affiliate of Vancouver. His time as a head coach in the minors is where he really earned his recognition.
In his first campaign in Abbotsford, Malhotra led the AHL Canucks to a Calder Cup championship. That 2024-25 AHL title put Malhotra on the map as a real candidate to coach in the NHL, and that has come to fruition, with Vancouver winning that race with a sensible internal hire.
It's not out of the ordinary for Calder Cup-winning coaches to be noticed by NHL teams and eventually get hired by one.
Looking at the history of coaches who became AHL champions, Ryan Warsofsky, Sheldon Keefe, Jared Bednar, Jeff Blashill, and Jon Cooper, all won the Calder Cup in the last 14 years, and are NHL coaches. Malhotra is now a part of that list.
Malhotra's links to Toronto don't end at the passing possibility of the Leafs hiring him as their next bench boss, as he was a part of their coaching staff in the past.
From 2020-21 to 2023-24, Malhotra was an assistant coach for the Maple Leafs, serving alongside Keefe for four seasons.
Toronto's head coaching role remains vacant after Craig Berube was fired on May 13. GM John Chayka's pool of available coaches shrinks by one with Malhotra's new gig.
See more of The Hockey News on Google — Save us as Preferred Source
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.