 On his first day of free agency on July 1 , 2010 , Malhotra signed a three @-@ year , $ 7 @.@ 5 million deal with the Vancouver Canucks that included a no @-@ trade clause . Malhotra was named an alternate captain during away games for the Canucks before the season began . He scored his first goal as a Canuck on October 22 , during a 5 – 1 win against the Minnesota Wild . Malhotra settled into to the Canucks ' lineup as the team 's third @-@ line centre , often playing with wingers Raffi Torres and Jannik Hansen , while playing significant time on the penalty kill and matching up against opposing team 's best forwards . His success as a defensive specialist earned him early consideration for the Selke Trophy as the league 's best two @-@ way forward . In an article on the NHL 's website , he was chosen as the front @-@ runner for the award at the mid @-@ way point of the campaign . He was also credited with allowing the team to use Ryan Kesler in a more offensive role ( Kesler was the team 's previous shutdown centre ) ; as a result , the second @-@ line centre recorded career @-@ highs in goals and points . 
