Malhotra hopes for bigger role
Expanded role a possibility for young coach who knows how to win faceoffs
Having your coaching house in order before the NHL draft is like spring cleaning. It’s necessary and can either mean tidying up or cleaning a mess.
For the Vancouver Canucks, that task falls somewhere in the middle because continuity and familiarity to chart the direction of the rebuild are imperative after Willie Desjardins was fired April 10.
It means once the Canucks make it official, new bench boss Travis Green will lean on those crucial elements in hiring Nolan Baumgartner — his Utica Comets assistant coach the last four seasons — to run the defence in place of the fired Doug Lidster.
It also means assistant Doug Jarvis will be retained after the bench clearing to provide that veteran element and help determine a replacement for fired assistant Perry Pearn.
An expanded role for development coach Manny Malhotra — he worked part time on skills and systems during home practices — is a possibility and the former Canucks centre is interested.
The only areas the Canucks showed consistent performance this season were goaltending and in the faceoff circle, which reflects Malhotra’s influence.
The Canucks finished ninth in draws (51.1 per cent) this season after being ranked last in 2015-16 (45.4 per cent). They managed the remarkable improvement despite Bo Horvat’s early season struggles with timing and Brandon Sutter labouring with a wonky right wrist.
That turnaround wasn’t lost on the hockey operations department. Malhotra also brought an infectious, upbeat attitude to what can often be the daily drudgery of practice and video sessions.
“We’ve started discussions and it’s something I would definitely like to do,” Malhotra said Tuesday referring to an expanded role. “Obviously, a lot has to do with how Green feels and how he wants to build his staff. And I think we’re still in the process of finding out the structure he wants to have.
“There are certain aspects (of coaching) that I’m learning about and how to get messages across to guys and be relatable.”
Malhotra is a newbie to coaching, but his book of work as a wizard in the circle is something any NHL franchise would welcome.
In 991 career games with seven NHL teams, the 37-year-old Mississauga, Ont. native had a 56.5 per cent faceoff efficiency average and a career-best 62.5 per cent with San Jose in 2009-10.
However, a deflected puck that struck Malhotra’s left eye on March 16, 2011 resulted in four procedures to reduce swelling and the pooling of blood. He would play again, but was released from a tryout in March of 2016 after 23 games with the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League.
It’s what Malhotra learned in the circle that would continue to be a boon for the Canucks.
“When I went to Columbus and was working with (Ken Hitchcock), I realized that was the way to get extra minutes,” he recalled. “If you’re good at faceoffs, you’re going to be out for the PK (penalty kill) and at the end of the game.
“You develop a rapport with linesmen. You learn who drops it fast. A lot of stuff goes into it.”
That stuff has gone to another level in the playoffs. Players are more crafty. They crowd the circle, they get their skate in the way of the opposition’s blade and use the gift of gab to get to an opponent.
“It becomes a big mind game,” Malhotra said. “If you win your first two or three (draws), you feel you have that rhythm and the guy you’re going against starts to question himself. But if you lose two or three in a row, you wonder if you have to change something up. And when you over-think, that’s when things go south.”
Puck possession will be even more crucial in the Canucks rebuild to kickstart a 29th-ranked offence and power play and 28th-rated penalty kill. The Canucks scored the fewest first-period goals this season and had the third-fewest shot attempts at even strength.
Green wants a stronger forecheck. He wants a better pace and net presence from a young roster that will be encouraged to showcase skill and learn quickly from mistakes.
That’s going to be a work in progress due to the very nature of youth — something spectacular on one shift and something strange the next. Meanwhile, getting offence from a back end that combined for just 22 goals this season will be influenced by systems encouraging defencemen to jump into the play.
That’s where the 41-year-old Baumgartner is expected to have some influence. His been there, done that communication skills should help a back end that has lacked symmetry through injuries and indifferent play.