VANCOUVER — When Ryan Johnson needed to hire a minor-league coach for the Vancouver Canucks two years ago, he described his search process this way: “There was a bunch of names on one list and then there was one name on my main list, and that was Manny.”

So far, Manny Malhotra is also the only name on Johnson’s new list to coach the National Hockey League team.

Six days since his promotion to general manager, Johnson on Tuesday fired head coach Adam Foote and assistants Brett McLean, Kevin Dean and Scott Young — all of them one-and-done as coaches in Vancouver and victims of one of the worst seasons in franchise history.

The Canucks have a new GM, new co-presidents in Daniel and Henrik Sedin, and will also have an entirely new NHL coaching staff beyond the likely retention of goaltending coach Marco Torenius and skills coach Jason Krog.

Johnson told reporters that he plans to be the first manager this spring to interview Malhotra for an NHL job, and the betting money says he will probably be the last one.

As the American Hockey League GM of the Canucks’ farm team in Abbotsford, Johnson specifically recruited Malhotra, bringing him back to Vancouver after a stint as Sheldon Keefe’s assistant coach in Toronto.

Not only did Johnson and Malhotra have similar traits as Canuck players — smart and professional, articulate, dependable and brimming with character — but they shared a strong vision about how prospects should be developed, with their values as teammates every bit as important as skill development.

That shared vision brought the Canuck organization its first Calder Cup championship 11 months ago, and the partnership seems perfectly suited now for an NHL team coming off a 58-point........

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