Malhotra spearheaded the Abby Canucks to the fifth-best regular season record in the AHL despite seeing many of his key players shuttled up to Vancouver throughout the campaign as call-ups. That included an incredible 13-game winning streak down the stretch when some of Malhotra’s top players were up with the big club.

Rick Tocchet is officially out as the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, and the search for a new head coach is already underway. After meetings last weekend with Canucks management, Tocchet informed president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford on Tuesday that he would not be returning.

When the news came down on March 27 that the Flyers were moving on from John Tortorella, all eyes immediately swung north of the border to Vancouver. The Flyers’ appreciation for Canucks coach Rick Tocchet is nothing new nor some huge surprise.