- Cara Gardner Morey is moving from Goldeneyes GM to head coach
- She takes over for Brian Idalski, fired in early June after one season
- Read below for her full comments and what happens to the GM chair
The Vancouver Goldeneyes fired their head coach in June. Two months later, the general manager who hired him is taking the job herself.
Cara Gardner Morey has been named the second head coach in franchise history, the team announced Thursday. She replaces Brian Idalski, who was let go in early June after Vancouver missed the playoffs in its first PWHL season.
Gardner Morey spent the offseason weighing the move, and she said the pull of the bench won out.
“Over the course of the offseason, I spent a lot of time reflecting and discussing what was best for our team and for me personally. Through that process, I realized how much I missed being behind the bench,” Gardner Morey said. “While I continue to be incredibly proud of what we built in Vancouver during our inaugural season, coaching is where I know I can make the biggest impact.”
PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford called it a natural fit in the same release.
“Cara played an instrumental role in establishing the Goldeneyes during their inaugural season, helping shape the team’s identity and lay a strong foundation for the future,” Hefford said. “She has a proven track record of developing athletes and creating high-performing teams.”
Vancouver wasted no time putting her in the role publicly:
None of this is new ground for her. The 47-year-old spent 14 seasons at Princeton, eight of them as head coach, and left as the second-winningest coach in program history. Her Tigers won the school’s first ECAC tournament title, took an Ivy League crown and set a program record with 26 wins in a season.
She has also coached at the U18, development and senior levels with Hockey Canada, which just made a big front-office move of its own when Danièle Sauvageau was hired as GM of the women’s national team.
Her new roster is one she assembled herself. Sarah Nurse, Emerance Maschmeyer and Sophie Jaques all came in under Gardner Morey, and she used the No. 1 pick in last month’s draft on reigning Patty Kazmaier winner Caroline Harvey.
That group went 9-3-4-14 and finished sixth in the eight-team league, which is how Vancouver ended up with the top pick in the first place.
Now the Goldeneyes need a general manager. The league says that search starts immediately, and whoever lands it inherits a roster somebody else already picked.
