(Photo: CHL, Guelph Storm)
The Canucks are entering there most important off season in a long time with looming free agency decisions and rumours about Star players leaving the Canucks need to start there off season off on the right foot. With Rick Tocchet declining a massive 5 million dollar per year deal for 5 years which would have made him the highest paying coach in Canucks history. So with no head coach the Canucks need a new boss bench.
The Canucks management have come down to 3 options the first option is Marco Sturm. Sturm is a former Pro hockey player from Germany and is long time NHL vet. He was considered the best German hockey player of all time up until fellow country man Leon Draisaitl he even had a short stint with the Canucks but was traded very quickly to the Florida Panthers. Marco is now the coach of the Ontario Reign. With a long playing career and a long coaching career Sturm would be an good pick for the Canucks but all signs point to him being in the bronze spot the next two candidates are much more likely to get the job and are already part of the Canucks origination.
Choice number 2 is Canucks assistant Coach Adam Foote. Foote had an amazing NHL career he has won 2 Stanley Cups, a gold medal in 2002 with the Canadian National Team and a World cup in 2004. He had a short head coaching stint in Kelowna and was fired less than 2 years into the job and if I am the Management i would love too keep Foote, but as an assistant.
The third choice, my choice is Manny Malhotra. Malhotra has had a long playing career spanning from 1998 to 2016. Manny has been coaching since 2016 and was a development coach with the Canucks starting his career. In 2017 Malhotra was a assistant with the Canucks up until 2020 when he left to be an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Malhotra returned to the Canucks organisation too become the Abbotsford Canucks head coach. In his first year he has led this young Abby team to the third round of the Calder Cup playoffs. A lot of Canucks fans are a little skeptical to hire a man with little head coaching experience, but Malhotra has so much experience as an assistant and has been around this Canucks origination for many years. The Canucks need a fresh start and Manny will be that fresh start.