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Chapter 1: What were the highlights from Manny Malhotra's introductory press conference?
Thank you.
Welcome back to a special early edition of Canucks Talk and an extended edition as well here on Sportsnet 650. Jamie Dodd joined by my co-host Thomas Drance. Drance, of course, also covers the Canucks for the Athletic, which he is doing in Buffalo at the NHL Draft Combine right now. We're broadcasting live from the Kintec studio.
650-650 is the Dunbar Lumber text line trusted by contractors and DIY champions across Metro Vancouver for generations. Find them at three convenient locations or visit Dunbar Lumber online today. We just heard Manny Malhotra speak to the media for the first time as the newest Canucks head coach. And Drance, you know, very impressive.
I feel like it would have been improved by some ambient baseball noise in the background.
Chapter 2: How does Manny Malhotra expect players to demonstrate accountability?
Why? Do you hear ambient baseball noise?
No, because that was how Adam Foote first spoke to the media last year at the Jays game. And I just couldn't help but thinking of the extreme. And I don't want to turn this into like we're going to focus on Manny, right? Rather than dump on Adam Foote. I found it very difficult. to stop thinking about the comparison. And not just the baseball, like that, whatever.
But the difference in communication style and the ability to communicate and the message, I found it very hard not to compare the two because I found it to be an incredibly stark contrast.
Chapter 3: What are the implications of Dylan Larkin's trade request for the Canucks?
What we heard of Manny Malhotra today and what we heard from Adam Foote during his tenure.
Yes. I want to leave it there.
Yeah, for sure. I just wanted to make that point and joke. We can move on. But it struck me. Let's put it that way.
Well, from what I'm hearing out in Buffalo, where a variety of NHL general managers and folks are gathered, and I've never covered the combine. I didn't realize I just sit in the lunchroom and like chat constantly with everybody until one of us gets pulled in another direction for an interview or what have you, right? Like it's a really interesting environment.
Anyway, I think there's a pretty good team out there that's going to bring in Adam Foote to be an assistant coach. And my gut would be that he probably does a totally good job. Absolutely. As he'd done in Vancouver. So, yes. That said, I don't think it's a reflection on Adam Foote to note how impressive Manny Malhotra is as a speaker, as a thinker. You know, I mean, this is a guy you want to buy.
Like, what are you selling, Manny? I'll buy it.
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Chapter 4: How does Sarah Nurse view the expansion of the PWHL?
I don't even need to know what you're selling. Like, I like it. I like what I'm hearing. Yep. And he's always been like that. You know, not that I've had a ton of dealings with him. I didn't wasn't covering the team when he was a player. I've interviewed him three times, three or four times, once as an assistant coach, a variety of times as the Abbotsford head coach. So more than three times.
But I mean, like long one of ones.
Chapter 5: What insights did Atu Ratu share about winning World Championship gold?
We've talked to him a couple of times, at least on the show. We've talked to RJ Moore at least once, maybe twice with Manny for sure.
Yeah, but long one-on-ones. I've had like three really extended one-on-ones. One when he was an assistant on Greenstaff, you know, in 2019. Last summer, we had an extended chat after he won the Calder Cup. And he's always been... And the one that really stands out to me, honestly, is the one in Seattle where...
from last September where I sort of asked him about like moving from young stars to this two game tournament. And he'd like clearly thought about what the experience would be like for a player and designed it to be like an NHL road trip and trying to give guys a sense of like, this is what a business trip is like at this level.
And like, it really put some thought into what that would feel like for a player going through it in a way that just immediately struck me as being atypically thoughtful. Right. Like they're intentional. And I just think that comes across in every answer that he gives. Like even the, you know, do you want to talk to me as dad or talk to me as coach?
Yeah.
Right. Like it's there's a simplicity to it that's actually quite thoughtful that immediately makes sense to everybody. Right. And I just think that's true in every answer he gives. Now, you know, there's things I disagree with him on, like.
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Chapter 6: How does Aatu Raty perceive his development under Manny Malhotra?
I don't think the idea that the NHL is not a development league is true when you look around at the realities of what the NHL has become. Teams are developing players in the NHL these days. I'd argue that the NHL is more a development league than the AHL in a lot of ways. But whatever. The content doesn't matter as much as the overall message. And there's just little moments in that presser where
they don't need me to give a rah-rah speech. They need me to help guide them to finding the joy in the game, right? Like, yes, exactly right. Like, have fun, man. Have fun at the rink. Have fun with what you're doing. This is the toy department of life. This is the best part of your life. You're playing in the NHL. Like, this is incredible. Um...
It shouldn't, the sneering joylessness should not exist around an NHL team, even in the depths of a rebuild. That perspective, right? That thoughtful perspective that, and that also I felt like really gave us a window into what Ryan Johnson was talking about with the idea of like not getting guys to shut down by focusing on your experience, right?
Chapter 7: What challenges does the Canucks organization face moving forward?
Like that's the experience of a guy who's played 900 games, who knows how quickly it can be taken away from you. Because of a weird bounce of a puck, right?
Who knows that you can be the top prospect, fail at that, struggle to earn a contract, have a good year as a PTO guy, and then earn a big contract and reinvent yourself and have this great career and earn all this respect and all this money and have a blast.
And, you know, like all of that shows through when he's talking about the joy of just playing in the league and taking advantage of that and helping helping remind guys of that, helping them find their way to being positive when things aren't easy. Right. Like it's all just so simple and thoughtful and considered and intentional. Every word, every word. And his demeanor is like that, too. Right.
There's a calm. Yes. He's not rejecting questions. Right. Like. he doesn't want to be defined as a coach of South Asian descent, but he understands what it means and he appreciates what it means, but it's not how he's going to judge himself. So he's not rejecting the premise of the question. He accounts for the feelings that other people in his, in the community have.
He takes pride in that to an extent, but he also wants to be just a coach. He wants to be evaluated on his merits as a person. And he communicates all of those ideas to,
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Chapter 8: What strategies are important for the Canucks in the upcoming season?
with a concise manner, a thoughtful manner, a respectful manner, and a matter-of-fact manner, where it's like, we're probably not going to ask him about it again in a press conference setting. In some ways, he's handled it. I just... He's such an impressive guy. He's such an impressive guy. I think Rian Johnson's such an impressive guy. I think the twins are such an impressive guy.
I think the messaging from this group is going to be top notch. And really, I just think it's about whether or not this organization will invest in supporting them to be put in a position to succeed to the best of their abilities, because there's really no questioning their abilities.
Yeah. And not for me as much as it is just the first press conference. And, you know, it's easy to be optimistic and all these things on your first press conference. So much of what we were pointing to is the reason it made sense to hire Manny Melhotra was on display. Because his ability to communicate is going to be a huge deal.
And he acknowledged as much tacitly, at least right when he said we can acknowledge that there is going to be some tough times. He was not shying away from that at all. And he said, you know, we're not going to be evaluating guys on wins and losses. Yes, I understand. It's the NHL. Winning is the bottom line. But there's also an implicit understanding of where the team is.
And we're going to be judging them on. Go ahead.
I just want to contextualize this, though. I thought, because I was watching the press conference, obviously, from Buffalo. But I thought, as that question, like, you're not going to do much winning here. Man, there's really not going to... The question really emphasized how hopeless the situation was.
And I think if you go and watch Malhotra's body language as he responded to that question, there was more than a little defiance.
Sure.
Like... I don't at the end of the day, I think in his heart of hearts, this is a competitive coach. He's like, I think that I think you could see a flash across his face where he's like, we're going to win more and sooner than you think, buddy.
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