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Canucks coach Manny Malhotra calls out Drew O’Connor’s penalty troubles

Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

By Jeff Paterson

Nov 6, 2026, 16:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 6, 2026, 16:02 EST

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Manny Malhotra didn’t name names in the wake of Thursday’s dispirited 6-2 loss in Winnipeg. But the Vancouver Canucks coach didn’t have to either. There was no doubt who a significant portion of his frustration was directed at when he referenced a “lazy hooking penalty for no reason in the neutral zone” early in the hockey game.

Drew O’Connor. Guilty as charged.

And if it was a one-off, the penalty could probably be overlooked. Unfortunately, it was a continuation of a troubling trend for the winger through the first quarter of the season. O’Connor has now taken a team-high nine minor penalties through 18 games, and Anaheim’s Bennett Sennecke is the only forward in the league who exceeds him.

Thursday’s hook on Cole Perfetti just 2:36 into the hockey game put the Canucks not only put the Canucks a man down moments after the opening face-off. It came against the backdrop of a game against Anaheim two nights earlier, where the Canucks penalty kill was ventilated all three times it was forced into duty.

The entire hockey world knows the Canucks can’t kill penalties – 63.3 per cent on the season and, incredibly 58.6 per cent on the road. And yet for some reason, O’Connor continues to take bad penalties that put his team in peril. The best way to help the penalty kill is clearly to prevent it from having to go to work.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Jets scored on the power play and added another goal just 14 seconds later and were up 2-0 before the game was five minutes old.

You can understand the coach’s lament.

O’Connor has now been whistled for four tripping calls, two hooks, roughing, unsportsmanlike conduct and he was assessed a strange face-off violation minor in a home game against Carolina. A player best known for his speed is resorting to hooks and trips to slow down opponents. It makes no sense.

Four of his nine minor penalties have resulted in power play goals for the opposition.

It’s a double-whammy, too, because O’Connor is one of the Canucks better penalty-killing forwards. He and Elias Pettersson usually start the kill when both are available. But with O’Connor repeated trips to the box, it forced Malhotra to juggle his penalty-killing forwards, and it’s pretty clear by now that he simply doesn’t have many competent options.

Last night, the Canucks started the kill with Brock Boeser replacing O’Connor, along with Elias Pettersson, and that duo was followed by Max Sasson and Linus Karlsson. And those two were on the ice when Alex Iafallo tipped home a point shot to open the scoring a minute and 23 seconds after O’Connor had been sent to the box.

It’s been a disappointing start to the season for O’Connor to say the least. He has just two goals and five points. But more than that, the Canucks have been outscored 14-5 in his 5-on-5 minutes.

Add to that the rash of penalties that has put the already outmanned Canucks behind the eight ball on far too many occasions, and it’s something that simply can’t continue.

It’s a contract year for O’Connor, who scored a career-high 17 goals last season. When he’s on, he uses his above-average speed to create rush chances and cause havoc on the forecheck. But he just hasn’t been able to find his groove this season. Some of that can be explained by the fact that he was miscast and asked to play centre for a handful of games. However, that only goes so far.

With the coach’s pointed comments after the loss in Winnipeg, you have to wonder how much leash a player like O’Connor has before a stronger message is delivered. Are we nearing a point where Drew O’Connor may have to take a seat in the press box so that he stops making trips to the penalty box?