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.

Family is a priority, and with my contract lapsing, this becomes the opportune time,” Tocchet said. “While I don’t know where I’m headed, or exactly how this will play

Rick Tocchet stepped down on Tuesday as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, who declined to exercise the contract option for next season but said they had offered the veteran coach a new long-term deal.