It was a busy weekend for the Vancouver Canucks, who are starting to reconvene as the new season draws ever nearer.
Let's start in Los Angeles, where Alex Elder hooked up for a photo with Vancouver Whitecaps goalie David Ousted following the 'Caps scoreless draw against the L.A. Galaxy on Saturday.
Next, we have Emerson Etem, Ben Hutton, Jake Virtanen and Andrey Pedan ringside at Saturday's UFC event at Rogers Arena. I like seeing Pedan with this group, adding credence to the comments that he made last season that he gets along well with the boys.
Saving the best for last, it's Derek Dorsett, Kirk McLean, Sven Baertschi, Jim Benning and Willie Desjardins—flanking none other than Manny Malhotra at the gala kickoff for this year's Fishing for Kids fundraiser for the Canucks autism network.
There has been some discussion in the past about how Manny would be a great addition to the Canucks' coaching staff, particularly with an eye toward acting as a faceoff tutor. I wasn't sure that was viable, given the rather inauspicious way that his time with the organization ended.
In February of 2013, just over a month into the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, then-general manager Mike Gillis announced that he was pulling Malhotra from the Canucks' lineup. "For his long-term health, his long-term safety that this was the best thing we could do," Gillis told Brad Ziemer at the time, in
this article from the
National Post.
The Carolina Hurricanes organization took a chance on the free agent Malhotra in the 2013-14 season and were rewarded. After an eight-game stint in the AHL, Malhotra played 69 games with the 'Canes, recording 13 points and ranking fifth in the league among players who took more than 500 faceoffs that year, at 59.45 percent.
From there, Malhotra signed a one-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens, where he picked up four points in 58 games but still maintained a 59.27 faceoff success rate—ranking him third in the league.
Malhotra clearly was still well enough to play pro hockey, but last season he only managed 23 games with the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters, between December and March.
Just 36, it looks like Malhotra's playing days are now coming to an end. It's great to see that his relationship with the Canucks organization is looking strong once again. Manny is married to NBA star Steve Nash's sister Joann, and I believe they still live in Vancouver, so the association does make some sense.
I'm hopeful that this week's finishing trip is laying the groundwork for a job offer for Malhotra, to come in and help the Canucks in the faceoff circle next season.
As a team, the Canucks have been brutal on draws for the past few years.
Last season, they ranked dead last with an overall success rate of 45.4 percent. Brandon Sutter was 52.5 percent, so a full season from him will help, and Bo Horvat finished up at a respectable 50.9 percent. Faceoffs were an area where Jared McCann really struggled, winning just 34.7 percent of his draws.
But McCann's not the sole reason for the problem. In 2014-15, when he was still in junior, Vancouver ranked 29th—slightly better at 46.7 percent. Horvat, once again, was a solid 51.4 percent, but Linden Vey's 42.3 percent success rate was uncomfortably low.
Henrik Sedin's numbers in the circles have also tapered off over the past couple of years. He was reliably around 50 percent for the better part of a decade between 2003-04 and 2013-14, but then dropped to 45 percent in 2014-15 and 46 percent last year.
I have argued in the past that faceoff win percentages aren't as important as they're sometimes made out to be, but this is an area where the Canucks have been consistently falling short over the past two years. It certainly wouldn't hurt for the team to be able to start with the puck more than they have been doing.
I hope by the time the fishermen return from Haida Gwaii, the biggest catch they'll have reeled in will be Malhotra, who can help shore up this part of the game for Vancouver.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»