Hockey Central
Maple Leafs bring Manny Malhotra aboard to assist Sheldon Keefe
September 17 2020
TORONTO – Manny Malhotra has just been tossed the keys to a Ferrari.
The Toronto Maple Leafs offence — one of the youngest, fastest and most combustible front engines hockey has to offer — will have a fresh set of hands tinkering under the hood.
The club announced Thursday its hiring of the former player to Sheldon Keefe’s bench, where the 991-game NHL veteran will fill the role vacated by Paul McFarland at the conclusion of the season.
Malhotra arrives in Toronto with the blessing of the Vancouver Canucks, the club he served as an “eye in the sky” assistant during games while working on-ice in development for three seasons.
“Manny’s such an awesome guy. He really cares about each individual he works with on the ice,” Vancouver’s Brock Boeser told reporters. “I’m really happy for Manny, and I think he’s going to do a great job.”
Upon learning of his promotion to bench coach, we caught up with an excited Malhotra over the phone Thursday afternoon for a quick, 10-minute chat about his new gig and the philosophy he’s taken from those who coached him.
SPORTSNET.CA: The Maple Leafs weren’t the only team that asked permission from the Canucks to speak with you. What factored into your decision to come here? How much did an emotional pull of returning to the Toronto area play into it?
MANNY MALHOTRA: Growing up in Toronto there is, you obviously understand the gravitational pull that the Leafs have on the community. So, that was somewhat weighed into my decision. But more so, after speaking to Sheldon and Kyle [Dubas] about the opportunity and the role here and where the group was and where they were headed, I felt it was a great opportunity to advance my coaching career with a really good organization, with a really good staff, and then a team that has been trending in the right direction. All of those things factored in for me. But it was a great opportunity to advance, I felt.
SN: What was the greatest thing you learned from your role in Vancouver?
MM: I learned a great deal from Travis in terms of the way to think the game. I keep saying how detail-oriented he is as a coach. His ability to analyze things. Even the most minute things that you wouldn’t think would be an issue or come into a play, then all of a sudden you see it happening two or three or four times in a game, and it’ll be the difference in a game. You learn that you can’t leave any stone unturned, as a coach.
But the other thing for me, I’ve learned that it’s not always about the X’s and O’s with players.
Each individual is different. They all learn differently. They’re all motivated by different things. So, it’s important for me to understand the person and get to know them as an individual to find out who they are, what’s their makeup before we can get into the X’s and O’s of the game. That’s a big thing for me, the communication aspect of things. And from there, you learn how to get information to players. That’s part of coaching that I really enjoyed, learning about guys and learning what makes them tick.
Hockey Central
Maple Leafs bring Manny Malhotra aboard to assist Sheldon Keefe
September 17 2020
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SN: How significant is the advantage for you, at 40 years old, not being so far removed from your own playing days?
MM: It definitely does help in a certain regard, in terms of knowing what players might be thinking in certain situations on the ice, or knowing what they may be going through at a certain time of the year. But there’s definitely been a switch for me from thinking as a player, which is incredibly advantageous, being in and around the guys and knowing what they’re going through. But it’s important to think like a coach and think beyond the right now. You’re thinking ahead. You’re thinking, two, three days ahead. You’re thinking to the next shift, to the next period. So, there has been a shift, but that player mentality will always come in helpful.
SN: I imagine you’ve done some studying of the Leafs’ offence and their power play in particular. What areas do you see for improvement? Can you give an example of one idea you can bring to the table?
MM: It’s been a very quick four or five days [of switching focus to Toronto from Vancouver]. And not having had a chance to see too much film on the team, it’s tough to give a definitive answer. Looking from the outside, obviously, you recognize the talent of the group and the potential of the group. What I want to get into in the next few weeks is just looking at that video, understanding a little bit more about their game and how we can improve and where we can improve. A lot of that comes from discussions with Sheldon and Hak [assistant Dave Hakstol] and then seeing where those improvements can take place.
SN: Have you had many coaching discussions with your brother-in-law Steve Nash? And were you at all surprised he took the Brooklyn Nets job?
MM: No, I wasn’t surprised. I have a lot of really good talks with both him and his [younger] brother Martin, who’s a soccer coach, and both of them are incredibly intelligent when it comes to sports and understanding not just the X’s and O’s but philosophies and concepts and ideas and traits of successful people. So, I’ve found a lot of help in just chatting with those guys. Obviously it’s different sports, but there’s a lot of things that carry over to sports in general that we discuss.
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Who’s the best coach you ever had?
MM: I go back and forth a little bit. I will say Ken Hitchcock is one of the most intelligent hockey people I’ve ever come across. Part of that is the fact that he’s never played the game at a high level. To be able to understand the game the way he has, never being in those situations, is remarkable. And then playing for Todd McLellan, he also had that really in-depth knowledge of the game. But his communication skills, for me, are what set him apart from a lot of coaches. His ability to make you understand things very clearly and concisely. There’s no grey area with him, and for that reason, I felt he was one of the better coaches that I’ve ever played for.
One day down the road, do you see yourself as a head coach in the NHL? Is that the ultimate goal?
MM: Step by step. I want to experience this. Like I said, this is the next step in my growth. I had a great chance to be the eye in the sky here in Vancouver. I learned a great deal. This is the next step, the next chapter. I want to do as good as a job as I can here in this role and maximize that. For me, the focus is right now and doing a good job at the role that has been given to me.
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
Coming up
Right after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series, odds for the 2025 World Series were released.
The Dodgers have the best odds at +400, while the Atlanta Braves and Yankees are next at +800.
The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five, both at +1100.
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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.
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AP sports:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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