It has been nearly two weeks since new General Manager Ryan Johnson relieved Adam Foote, along with the rest of his coaching staff, of their duties as coaches of the Vancouver Canucks, and the search for his replacement continues.

Abbotsford Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra, who Johnson worked alongside over the past two seasons, has been considered the frontrunner for the position since it became vacant. And according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on Friday’s edition of 32 Thoughts – The Podcast, things remain on track for the two sides.

“I’m not as concerned about that situation as others are,” Friedman said. “Nature abhors a vacuum, particularly in Vancouver. … I still am not panicked about anything going on with Malhotra. One of the things I think is going on in Vancouver is they have a lot happening. They have some positions to fill, some business to do, and I think that has affected some of these decisions. Not in terms of it happening, but the timelines of it.

“So, I’m not concerned about the Malhotra situation as it stands right now. I still think that things are moving in the proper direction.”

Malhotra was hired from the Toronto Maple Leafs bench in May of 2024, when Jeremy Colliton accepted a job as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils. In his first season as the bench boss in Abbotsford, Malhotra led the team to their best season in franchise history, finishing with a 44-24-2-2 record and a second-place finish in the Pacific Division. They went on to beat the Tucson Roadrunners in three games, the Coachella Valley Firebirds in four, the Colorado Eagles in five, the Texas Stars in six, and the Charlotte Checkers in six to capture the Calder Cup.

Several players from that team, Linus Karlsson, Max Sasson, and Aatu Räty, are now regular NHLers for Vancouver. At the same time, Sammy Blais, Phil Di Giuseppe, and Cole McWard earned NHL deals around the league.

It was a difficult 2025-26 campaign for Malhotra and Abbotsford. As mentioned, the team lost much of its championship-winning talent, resulting in a dip to ninth in the Pacific Division and a nine-point miss of the playoffs. Regardless, the team’s vibes never changed under Malhotra’s leadership.

According to reports, there hasn’t been much of a search for the next Canucks head coach. It appears that it’s only a matter of time before Manny Malhotra is named the 23rd head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.