The Vancouver Canucks are now one of eight NHL teams looking for a new head coach for the 2025-26 season and beyond.
Head coach Rick Tocchet left the Canucks in a precarious position Tuesday, coming to the eventual conclusion to leave Vancouver on his own terms, rather than to agree to a new contract extension to keep him with the organization beyond June 30.
The good news for the Canucks is that they will not be short on options. The bad news is that none of the candidates are without their warts, and they'll be competing with seven other NHL teams for these candidates.
Would the Canucks consider a well-traveled veteran like Peter Laviolette?
"It's a good name," Canucks president Jim Rutherford said of the exiled New York Rangers boss.
Laviolette, 60, was dismissed following a rocky end to his two-year tenure in New York, posting a 39-36-7 record in the Big Apple after winning the Metropolitan Division, the Presidents' Trophy, and two playoff rounds in 2023-24.
Another name, according to Rutherford, is none other than longtime NHLer Manny Malhotra, the rookie head coach at the helm of the Abbotsford Canucks.
"He will certainly be on the shortlist and will be a guy that will be considered," added Rutherford.
Malhotra, 44, played parts of three seasons with the Canucks during his playing days, has served as a Canucks development coach previously, and has guided Abbotsford to a 44-win campaign in his first ever gig as a head coach.
Players who have notably thrived under Malhotra this season include Aatu Raty, Linus Karlsson, Danila Klimovich, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Elias Pettersson, and Jonathan Lekkerimaki.
Taking a leap of faith on a rookie head coach would be a big risk by a Canucks team looking to continue contending, but they are also staring down the barrel of a rebuild at the same time.
Perhaps Malhotra can develop the Canucks' young talent if Laviolette isn't the man to guide them to Stanley Cup contention.