The Vancouver Canucks are taking longer than usual to choose their new head coach, and it seems that budget issues aren’t the cause.
On Thursday, Locked On Canucks suggested that the hold-up between the Canucks and Manny Malhotra might actually be about a discussion regarding the draft, rather than a pay-related conversation.
“It’s not about the money,” the show wrote on X. “He played in the NHL for more than ten years, his brother is Steve Nash, and his son is about to earn a lot of cash. ”
This last point changes the whole situation. This isn’t a guy looking for a huge salary; instead, he is figuring out a particular detail about the team before he agrees to the job.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if Manny said. . . I’ll take the head coach job if you don’t draft my son. That could be why things are taking so long,” Locked On Canucks explained in the same post.
Caleb Malhotra is the player involved in this theory. He is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft. The idea of a new head coach having his son selected by his own team might create difficulties for the organization.
Why this kind of request can reveal a lot about Malhotra’s way of thinking
Elliotte Friedman shared earlier this week that the Canucks were making progress with the Malhotra hiring and might announce something soon.
However, more time has passed than expected.
The Locked On Canucks perspective adds a personal touch that simple salary talks don’t. Money disagreements can be fixed with numbers.
Disputes involving family and job matters require more careful handling.
The Canucks ended up last in the league with a record of 25-49-8, earning only 58 points. They are starting over from scratch. Every decision the new head coach makes in his first year will be closely watched.
Walking into a room with your own son, who is also eligible to be drafted at the same time, would be the type of distraction that Malhotra can easily grasp as someone with 14 years of NHL experience.
Honestly, it would be quite unusual for a head coach to ask his prospective team not to select his own son in the draft; such a request would show a lot of selflessness in the NHL today.
This request would also be wise. Having a family issue right from the start is something no new coach wants to deal with.
The other part of the discussion is trickier. Vancouver has a real draft pick soon. Caleb Malhotra might actually be someone they want to consider.
Choosing not to pick a player they like just because of who his dad is could cause its own trouble in how things look.
The Canucks have several moves planned along with this hiring. There’s talk about trading Elias Pettersson and Frank Seravalli is addressing rumors about Filip Hronek being traded.
Brock Boeser’s contract situation is also important. The voice from the coaching staff affects all these decisions.
The connection to Steve Nash adds another layer to this situation. Malhotra grew up in the same sports community for hockey and basketball in British Columbia.
He knows the local attention and criticism better than almost anyone else Vancouver could have talked to about this job.
The draft is set for June 26, and free agency starts on July 1. They need to make this hiring decision quickly. Whatever details are hidden in Malhotra’s contract might be more intriguing than what it says on the surface.
Leave a Reply