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= eastern area command ( raaf ) =

eastern area command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the royal australian air force ( raaf ) during world war ii it was formed in may 1942 and controlled units based in new south wales and southern queensland headquartered in sydney eastern area command was primarily responsible for air defence aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its boundaries the area continued to function following the end of the war transferring its headquarters to glenbrook in the blue mountains in 1949 by this time most of the raaf 's operational units were based within eastern area 's boundaries it was re @@ formed in october 1953 as home command ( renamed operational command in 1959 and air command in 1987 ) under the raaf 's new functional command @@ and @@ control system

= = history = =


= = = world war ii = = =

prior to world war ii the royal australian air force was small enough for all its elements to be directly controlled by raaf headquarters in melbourne when war broke out the raaf began to decentralise its command structure commensurate with expected increases in manpower and units between march 1940 and may 1941 australia and papua were divided into four geographically based command @@ and @@ control zones central area southern area western area and northern area the roles of the area commands were air defence protection of adjacent sea lanes and aerial reconnaissance each was led by an air officer commanding ( aoc ) who controlled the administration and operations of all air bases and units within his boundary
central area was disbanded in august 1941 and its responsibilities divided between southern area northern area and the newly formed no 2 ( training ) group the outbreak of the pacific war resulted in northern area being split in january 1942 into north @@ western and north @@ eastern areas to counter separate japanese threats to northern australia and new guinea southern area was also considered appropriate for division owing to its size so the air board proposed assigning responsibility for operational and maintenance units within new south wales to a new area command eastern area which would also assume control of units in southern queensland from north @@ eastern area
headquartered in the sydney suburb of edgecliff eastern area command was formed on 15 may 1942 under the leadership of air vice marshal bill anderson staff numbered 114 including forty @@ five officers training units in new south wales remained part of no 2 ( training ) group no 5 ( maintenance ) group was formed in sydney on 1 june and took responsibility for all maintenance units initially controlled by eastern area command in september the allied air forces commander in the south west pacific area major general george kenney formed the majority of his us flying units into the fifth air force and most of their australian counterparts into raaf command led by air vice marshal bill bostock bostock exercised control of australian air operations through the area commands although raaf headquarters continued to hold overarching administrative authority meaning that bostock and his area commanders were ultimately dependent on the chief of the air staff air vice marshal george jones for supplies and equipment
of necessity the raaf 's two northerly area commands were primarily responsible for bombing and air defence while the other commands focussed on maritime patrol and anti @@ submarine warfare aircraft from eastern area flew over 400 patrol anti @@ submarine and convoy escort missions in january 1943 by april the command was operating seven combat units no 5 squadron flying army cooperation missions with cac wirraways out of kingaroy queensland no 23 squadron flying dive @@ bombing missions with wirraways from lowood queensland no 24 squadron flying dive @@ bombing missions with wirraways from bankstown new south wales no 32 squadron flying reconnaissance and bombing missions with lockheed hudsons from camden new south wales no 71 squadron flying maritime reconnaissance and anti @@ submarine missions with avro ansons from lowood no 73 squadron flying maritime reconnaissance and anti @@ submarine missions with ansons from nowra new south wales and no 83 squadron flying fighter missions with wirraways from strathpine queensland area headquarters staff numbered 626 including ninety @@ nine officers bristol beauforts of no 32 squadron were credited with damaging a japanese submarine on 19 june but neither the raaf nor the royal australian navy was able to destroy any enemy submarines in coastal waters during 1943
anderson handed over command of eastern area to air commodore john summers in july 1943 group captain alister murdoch became senior air staff officer ( saso ) on 22 october avro lancaster q @@ for @@ queenie piloted by flight lieutenant peter isaacson buzzed the eastern area headquarters building in edgecliff before flying under the sydney harbour bridge flouting regulations and becoming the largest aircraft to pull such a stunt the same month the air board proposed carving a new area command out of eastern area which by then was considered too large to be controlled by one headquarters and therefore ripe for division the new command to be known as central area would have been responsible for training and operational units in southern queensland the war cabinet deferred its decision on the proposal the concept was raised again in august 1944 and this time central area command was to control maintenance units as well as training and operations in southern queensland once again nothing came of the proposal
air commodore alan charlesworth was appointed aoc eastern area in december 1943 japanese submarine activity had decreased in the months prior to charlesworth taking command and he was concerned that allied ships were becoming complacent he observed a general slackening off in procedure ships are seldom where they should be and a minority of merchant ships identify themselves to aircraft the raaf 's patrols had also settled into a predictable pattern that an observant submarine captain could easily avoid charlesworth relinquished command in september 1944 to take over north @@ western area in december aircraft from eastern area took part in the search for the german submarine u @@ 862 but could not prevent it sinking the liberty ship robert j walker on christmas a beaufort of no 15 squadron based at camden located the wreck no 32 squadron lost a beaufort with its crew shortly after takeoff from lowood during the search for u @@ 862 which was called off in january 1945 that month air commodore leon lachal became aoc eastern area and held command for the duration of the pacific war

= = = post @@ war activity and reorganisation = = =

following the end of the pacific war in august 1945 south west pacific area was dissolved and raaf headquarters again assumed full control of all its operational elements including the area commands according to the official history of the post @@ war air force the aoc eastern area was considered australia 's senior operational airman and delegated by the chief of the air staff with day @@ to @@ day responsibility for the nation 's air defence most of the raaf 's bases and aircraft employed in operations were situated within eastern area 's sphere of control in new south wales and southern queensland air commodore frank lukis succeeded lachal as aoc in december 1945 by the end of the month headquarters staff numbered 1 @@ 122 including 104 officers no 82 ( bomber ) wing came under the control of eastern area command in april 1946 when it moved to raaf station amberley queensland initially operating b @@ 24 liberators the wing re @@ equipped with avro lincolns soon after by this time eastern area headquarters occupied seven mansions in point piper sydney it subsequently relocated to bradfield park lukis retired from the air force in may and charlesworth took over command
in july august 1946 eastern area command oversaw the establishment of no 86 ( transport ) wing operating c @@ 47 dakotas at raaf station schofields new south wales displacing no 78 ( fighter ) wing which moved to raaf station williamtown and began operating p @@ 51 mustangs the following month air vice marshal jones proposed reducing the five mainland area commands ( north @@ western north @@ eastern eastern southern and western areas ) to three northern area covering queensland and the northern territory eastern area covering new south wales and southern area covering western australia south australia victoria and tasmania the proposal was part of a much larger plan to restructure the post @@ war raaf the federal government rejected the plan and the wartime area command boundaries largely remained in place lachal succeeded charlesworth as aoc eastern area in october and held command until his retirement from the air force in july 1947
lachal 's successor as aoc eastern area air vice marshal frank bladin was responsible for preparing the transfer of its headquarters from bradfield park to the former <unk> hotel at glenbrook in the lower blue mountains a process that was completed in 1949 as well as commanding a view of the surrounding countryside the property was within five kilometres ( three miles ) of the city of penrith and thirty kilometres ( twenty miles ) of raaf station richmond and incorporated a disused railway tunnel that offered according to government correspondence complete protection from atom bomb attack an adjoining property briarcliffe was purchased soon afterwards to augment the new headquarters ' accommodation facilities bladin completed his term as aoc eastern area in october 1948 air vice marshal john mccauley was appointed aoc in march the following year mccauley commanded eastern area during the early years of the malayan emergency and oversaw the deployment of no 90 ( composite ) wing to administer raaf units stationed there a lincoln squadron detached from no 82 wing and a dakota squadron from no 86 wing having re @@ equipped with de havilland vampire jets no 78 wing departed williamtown for garrison duties with the raf on malta in july 1952 in may 1953 eastern area 's saso group captain frank headlam announced that the air force was planning to re @@ equip no 82 wing with english electric canberra jet bombers and also procure cac sabre swept @@ wing jet fighters
the federal government retired air marshal jones in 1952 and replaced him with air marshal donald hardman raf who proceeded to re @@ organise the raaf command @@ and @@ control system along functional lines establishing home ( operational ) training and maintenance commands in october 1953 the first was re @@ formed from eastern area command as it was considered the raaf 's de facto operational organisation the second was re @@ formed from southern area command as it was the hub of training services controlling those in new south wales and queensland as well as victoria and south australia the third and last functional command was formed from the extant maintenance group headquarters in melbourne the transition to a functional system was completed in february 1954 when the three new commands assumed control of operations training and maintenance from western north @@ western and north @@ eastern areas

= = aftermath = =

the functional commands established in 1953 54 were revised in 1959 home command was renamed operational command and training and maintenance commands merged to become support command operational command was renamed air command in 1987 and three years later support command split into logistics command and training command throughout the evolution from home to operational to air command the headquarters remained at glenbrook in the blue mountains in 1997 logistics management became the responsibility of support command ( air force ) the raaf component of the defence @@ wide support command australia ( later subsumed by the defence materiel organisation ) training command was re @@ formed as air force training group a force element group under air command in 2006 air command thus became the sole command @@ level organisation in the raaf

= = order of battle = =

as at may 1944 eastern area controlled the following squadrons
no 11 squadron equipped with consolidated pby catalinas based in rathmines
no 21 squadron equipped with vultee vengeances based at camden
no 32 squadron equipped with bristol beauforts based at lowood
no 107 squadron equipped with vought kingfishers based at st george 's basin


= nels nelsen =

nels nelsen ( 3 june 1894 3 june 1943 ) born nils johan nilsen and sometimes incorrectly referred to as nels nelson was a norwegian @@ born canadian ski jumper and later ski jumping organizer he was among the world 's best ski jumpers during the 1920s and held the world record of 73 meters from 1925 to 1930 born in salangen he moved with his family to revelstoke british columbia in 1913 he quickly became the town 's best ski jumper making his debut in the town 's big hill in 1916 he competed throughout canada and the united states and became canadian champion five times despite holding the world record at the time he was not allowed to participate in the 1928 winter olympics because the officials did not find it suitable for him to have to work his way to switzerland
nelsen worked for the canadian pacific railway and moved to north vancouver british columbia where he raised a family nelsen lost his hand in a hunting accident in 1933 and was forced to retire as a ski jumper he continued as an organizer and was among other things president of the western canada amateur ski association and later vice @@ president of the canadian amateur ski association in 1948 after big hill had been expanded it was renamed nels nelsen hill nelsen was inscribed in the us national ski hall of fame in 1971 and the canadian ski hall of fame in 1983

= = early and personal life = =

he was born nils johan nilsen to a norwegian family in <unk> in salangen on 3 june 1894 as the oldest of six children as a child nelsen was an active skier and ski jumper with more than fifteen ski jumps located in the area in 1913 his family emigrated to big eddy near revelstoke once in canada he anglicized his name his brother <unk> nilsen was also a champion ski jumper and became among other things boy 's world champion in 1922 <unk> who chose not to <unk> his last name was known for his supreme style while nels was better known for his length nelsen married emma pickard with whom he had ten children except for a brief period as a ski instructor he worked as a brakeman and conductor for the canadian pacific railway whose flexibility made it <unk> to participate in tournaments he moved to north vancouver where he raised his family

= = athletic career = =

nelsen won the home @@ town winter carnival tournament setting the hill record of 56 meters ( 183 ft ) in big hill in the inauguration tournament in 1916 with this and subsequent better distances he would hold the hill record in revelstoke until 1932 in 1916 he won the championship of canada ski jumping contest which he would subsequently defend every year until 1920 he continued by setting the canadian amateur record in 1920 and breaking it again in 1921 and 1923 he was among the most successful jumpers in canada from 1916 to 1925 taking home most trophies among his methods to improve his jumps was placing pieces of lead at the front or back of the skies to give optimal balance
nelsen traveled throughout canada and the united states to attend ski jumping competitions in british columbia he attended competitions in nelson trail rossland princeton kamloops sandon <unk> kimberley and cranbrook in alberta he attended tournaments in calgary edmonton banff and camrose in eastern canada in ottawa and montreal in the united states he attended events in mount rainier and leavenworth in washington dillon steamboat springs and denver in colorado salt lake city and brattleboro vermont he became canadian champion five times in 1917 1918 1919 1920 and 1922 his various best jumps were canadian records from 1916 to 1932
during the 1925 winter carnival tournament nelsen sick with influenza set a world record at the big hill jumping 73 meters ( 240 ft ) the record remained until it was broken by adolph <unk> at bernina @@ <unk> @@ schanze in switzerland in 1930 who jumped 75 meters ( 246 ft ) however bob lymburne was able to again claim the world record for the big hill when he jumped 82 meters ( 269 ft ) in 1932 although accepted as a record it was not at the time favored in europe to stress distance records this was because it was regarded that simply building a larger hill would undoubtedly give a longer jump and in part because such records did not take style into consideration nelsen and melbourne mckenzie planned to travel to st moritz switzerland to attend the 1928 winter olympics but lack of funding meant that they planned for work for their fare on a freighter these plans were stopped by officials from the british delegation who felt it was inappropriate and not fitting for the team and nelsen never competed in any winter olympics nelsen kept his amateur status but did well against professionals those times he competed against them during the winter of 1932 he worked as a ski instructor in quebec in a hunting accident in 1932 he lost an arm and never jumped again

= = organizer career and legacy = =

after arriving in revelstoke nelsen was instrumental in the establishment of revelstoke ski club and the big hill located within mount revelstoke national park in 1927 he helped establish a ski jump in grouse mountain in north vancouver after his accident he started working to establish field ski club in field british columbia where he spent time between trains he promoted a strict adherence to the amateur code and stated that debates regarding professionalism were disruptive for the united states national ski association
traditionally governing of skiing in canada was split between the canadian amateur ski association ( casa ) and the western canada amateur ski association ( <unk> ) nelsen was the latter 's president and after years of rivalry which even reached the point where they did not recognize each other nelsen eventually was part of the negotiation for an amalgamation which took into consideration the needs of the western clubs nelsen subsequently became vice @@ president of casa from 1934
he died of heart failure in field on 3 june 1943 his 49th birthday in 1948 after big hill had been expanded it was renamed nels nelsen hill nelsen was inscribed in the us national ski hall of fame in 1971 the canadian ski hall of fame in 1983 and the following year in the bc sports hall of fame


= manny malhotra =

emmanuel manny <unk> malhotra ( born may 18 1980 ) is a canadian professional ice hockey centre who is currently an unrestricted free agent who last played with the lake erie monsters in the american hockey league ( ahl ) on a try @@ out basis he previously played in the nhl for the montreal canadiens carolina hurricanes vancouver canucks san jose sharks columbus blue jackets dallas stars and the new york rangers malhotra is known as a two @@ way forward and for his faceoff proficiency

= = playing career = =

malhotra was drafted in the first round as the seventh overall pick of the 1998 nhl entry draft by the new york rangers he joined the nhl after a two @@ year career in the ontario hockey league ( ohl ) with the guelph storm with served as captain in his final year winning a j ross robertson cup championship and subsequently appearing in the 1998 memorial cup with the storm malhotra also earned a bobby smith trophy george parsons trophy and memorial cup all @@ star honours as a junior
he played with the rangers from 1998 to 2002 during this time he was assigned on numerous occasions to the team 's ahl affiliate the hartford wolf pack with whom he won a calder cup championship in 2000 at the 2001 02 trade deadline he was dealt to the stars and spent parts of three seasons with the club beginning in 2003 04 malhotra began to see increased offensive production marked by his acquisition off waivers by the blue jackets after four seasons in columbus he signed a one @@ year contract with the sharks in september 2009 he recorded a career @@ high in goals with san jose before joining the canucks on a three @@ year deal in his first season with vancouver malhotra suffered a major injury to his left eye requiring several surgeries despite having lost a significant amount of his vision he returned the same year to compete in the 2011 stanley cup finals he struggled to play with the injury until canucks management placed him on the injured reserve for the remainder of the 2012 @@ 13 season in february 2013
internationally malhotra has represented canada in under @@ 18 competition two world junior championships and one world championship serving as team captain at the 2000 world junior championships malhotra led canada to a bronze medal

= = = guelph storm = = =

after playing minor hockey with the mississauga reps of the metro toronto hockey league ( <unk> ) after being selected in the first round ( 17th overall ) of the 1996 ohl priority selection malhotra played two seasons in the ontario hockey league ( ohl ) with the guelph storm beginning in 1996 97 he scored 16 goals and 44 points over 61 games in his rookie season in the 1997 playoffs he added 14 points in 18 games as guelph lost in the semifinals to the ottawa 67 's the following season he improved to 16 goals and 51 points over 57 games he served as team captain while being assigned the primary role of shutting down opposing team 's top forwards guelph advanced to the ohl finals where they defeated ottawa in five games to capture the j ross robertson cup malhotra had 13 points in 12 games in the championship @@ winning playoff season earning a berth into the 1998 memorial cup guelph made it to the final where they lost to the portland winter hawks 4 3 in overtime malhotra ranked third in tournament scoring with a goal and seven points over five games he was named to the memorial cup all @@ star team and was awarded the george parsons trophy as the tournament 's most sportsmanlike player

= = = new york rangers = = =

in the off @@ season malhotra was drafted by the new york rangers in the first round seventh overall of the 1998 nhl entry draft the rangers scouted him as a strong physical player with good hockey sense and character comparing him to adam graves he was surprised to have been selected by the rangers as they were one of the only teams to have not interviewed or met with him prior to the draft he anticipated being drafted by the calgary flames at sixth overall as the team 's general manager al coates had previously drafted him into the ohl as general manager of the storm
with the 1998 99 approaching malhotra had not yet signed an nhl contract with the rangers by october league rules stipulated that if he did not sign by october 8 1998 he would be required to return to junior for the entire campaign the night before the deadline malhotra and the rangers agreed to a three @@ year deal worth the rookie @@ maximum of $ 975 @@ 000 with performance @@ based incentives that could have increased his salary to $ 2 million making the immediate jump from junior to the nhl at the age of 18 he became the second player of indian heritage to play in the nhl malhotra recorded eight goals and 16 points over 73 games as a rookie
during the season the rangers were interested in acquiring vancouver canucks forward pavel bure it was reported that canucks general manager brian burke had requested malhotra to be involved in a trade that would have sent him along with niklas sundstrom dan cloutier and the rangers ' first @@ round pick in the 1999 draft in exchange for bure however rangers general manager neil smith refused to include malhotra and the deal never materialized
the following season he struggled to earn a regular spot on the rangers ' roster and was often a healthy scratch rangers head coach john muckler publicly declared before the beginning of the malhotra 's second nhl campaign that he would be nothing more than a career third @@ liner malhotra 's potential was often at the centre of an ongoing dispute between muckler and smith
malhotra suffered an ankle injury in november that sidelined him for four games upon his recovery his play was judged by team management to have suffered and he began to be benched meanwhile the canadian national junior team wanted the rangers to loan him to them for the 2000 world junior championships on december 12 1999 general manager neil smith obliged and assigned malhotra for the international tournament he was then sent for a two @@ week conditioning assignment with the rangers ' american hockey league ( ahl ) affiliate the hartford wolf pack on march 14 2000 he was sent back down to the ohl on march 14 2000 in order to retain his eligibility for later ahl assignment in the season malhotra had dressed for only four games in the two months between his return from the world junior championships in early @@ january and his junior reassignment he was pointless in the 27 games total he played with the rangers that season
returning to guelph he played in five regular season and six playoff games upon his junior club 's first @@ round playoff elimination he was reassigned to the wolf pack where he recorded a goal and six points over 12 games to finish the regular season he then added three points in 23 post @@ season contests helping the wolf pack to the franchise 's first calder cup championship
malhotra returned to the wolf pack the following season after failing to make the rangers ' roster out of training camp with new york deep at the centre position his ahl assignment was predicated on him learning to play wing he received numerous call @@ ups to new york and finished the 2000 01 campaign with 11 points over 28 games in the ahl and 12 points over 50 games in the nhl the season also marked a management change as glen sather took over as general manager marking the departure of smith who had drafted malhotra and regarded him as <unk> during his tenure
fifty @@ six games into his 2001 02 season with the rangers sather dealt malhotra to the dallas stars at the trade deadline along with winger barrett <unk> in exchange for forwards martin rucinsky and roman lyashenko although he had established himself as an effective <unk> and defensive forward malhotra did not materialize into the offensive player the rangers hoped he would be

= = = post @@ new york = = =

malhotra welcomed the trade to dallas as an opportunity for more playing time as he was sparsely used with the rangers however he saw limited success with the stars following his trade he recorded one point a goal in 16 games to finish the 2001 02 season he was re @@ signed by dallas to a two @@ year contract on june 27 2002 in 2002 03 he recorded 10 points over 59 games he appeared in his first stanley cup playoffs as the stars qualified for the 2003 post @@ season as the top seed in the western conference they were eliminated in the second round by the mighty ducks of anaheim
after going pointless in nine games early the following season the stars waived malhotra on november 19 2003 two days later he was picked up by the columbus blue jackets malhotra improved with the blue jackets notching 12 goals and 25 points over 56 games following the trade he missed the final six games of the regular season with a bruised ankle his ice time rose from an average of nine minutes a game with dallas the previous season to 14 minutes in columbus
due to the nhl lockout malhotra spent the 2004 05 season overseas in europe he initially signed with hdd olimpija ljubljana of slovenia on october 8 2004 and recorded 27 points over 26 games ( including both slovenian league and inter @@ league play ) on december 12 he signed with hv71 jönköping of the swedish elite league he notched seven points in 20 games with the club
returning to columbus as nhl resumed play the following season malhotra spent 2005 06 centering columbus ' third line despite missing 24 games due to injury with back spasms in november and a shoulder injury in january he improved his points total for the second straight nhl season with 10 goals and 21 assists the blue jackets re @@ signed him in the off @@ season to a three @@ year contract on june 20 2006 in the first year of his new contract he tallied nine goals and 25 points over a full 82 @@ game season
malhotra missed 11 games with a recurring knee injury in december 2007 late in the 2007 08 season on march 17 2008 he recorded a career @@ high three points in one game ( two goals and an assist ) in a 4 3 win against the detroit red wings he finished the campaign with 11 goals and 29 points early in the 2008 09 season malhotra missed five games with a lower @@ body injury he recorded a career @@ high 24 assists and 35 points over 77 games during the campaign as columbus was plagued with numerous injuries over the course of the season malhotra was used on various lines while also in a shutdown role playing against top opposing forwards
his contract was not renewed by the blue jackets in the 2009 off @@ season and he became an unrestricted free agent after failing to sign with an nhl team malhotra accepted an invitation to the san jose sharks ' training camp on september 17 2009 five days later he signed a one @@ year $ 700 @@ 000 deal with the team he went on to record a career @@ high 14 goals and plus @@ 17 rating along with 19 assists for 33 points in his only season with the sharks he centred the team 's third line and earned time playing wing on the powerplay the sharks did not re @@ sign him however and he became an unrestricted free agent for the second consecutive summer on july 1 2010 looking back on his time in san jose malhotra called it the most enjoyable season [ he 's ] had as a pro being able to play for a winning team and have a long playoff run for the first time in his nhl career

= = = vancouver canucks = = =

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
near the end of the season malhotra was struck in the eye by a puck during a game against the colorado avalanche on march 16 2011 he immediately left the ice and underwent eye surgery the following day it was announced on march 21 2011 that malhotra would not be returning to the lineup for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs without further comment on malhotra 's condition eight days later he underwent a second successful surgery on his eye limited to 72 games malhotra recorded his third consecutive 30 @@ point season with 11 goals and 19 assists while playing on the canucks ' third line with raffi torres and jannik hansen his 61 @@ 7 faceoff percentage ranked second in the league behind david steckel the campaign also included the 100th goal of his nhl career scored in a 3 @@ 0 win against the anaheim ducks on march 6 2011
on a team @@ basis malhotra 's first season with the canucks saw them earn the presidents ' trophy for having the best regular season record in the league in the midst of his recovery malhotra made an appearance during the team 's pre @@ game ceremony at rogers arena co @@ accepting the trophy with captain henrik sedin despite original statements from the team that he would not return for the playoffs malhotra began working his way up from light practices with the team in may 2011 by the end of the month he was cleared by doctors to play in the stanley cup finals though he remained out of the lineup for game 1 he returned for the following contest and played the rest of the series as the team 's fourth @@ line centre ( late @@ season acquisition maxim lapierre filled in for malhotra on the third line ) playing against the boston bruins the finals went to a seventh game which the canucks lost malhotra 's regular season performance earned him six first @@ place votes out of 125 for the selke trophy he ranked fifth in balloting as teammate ryan kesler won the distinction at the year @@ end awards ceremony
having lost a significant amount of his vision in his left eye malhotra struggled in his first full season since the injury in 2011 12 he was supplanted as the canucks ' third @@ line centre by rookie cody hodgson and later samuel pahlsson canucks head coach alain vigneault assessed malhotra during the season as not the same physical player he was before adding that he 's still contributing but not maybe to the degree that he was before he got injured playing left wing on the fourth line he remained an integral part of the team by playing on the penalty kill and taking important defensive zone faceoffs near the end of the campaign malhotra was chosen as the canucks ' nominee for the bill masterton trophy an annual nhl award for perseverance sportsmanship and dedication to hockey with a diminished offensive role malhotra finished his second season in vancouver with 7 goals and 18 points over 78 games as well as a 10 plus @@ minus rating he remained among the league 's elite in terms of faceoffs however ranking fourth with a 58 @@ 5 percentage
continuing to struggle with his eye injury malhotra was put on the injured reserve a month into the 2012 @@ 13 season fearing for his long @@ term health canucks general manager mike gillis took him out of the lineup for the season a decision that he described as the hardest thing [ he has ] done in [ his ] job malhotra had appeared in nine games without recording a point

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