Nowadays in the sport of hockey, it’s not often you’ll find someone who occupies both the role of head coach and general manager for a single team. 

In the PWHL, Troy Ryan of PWHL San Jose is the lone individual set to serve as both the GM and head coach of their team. 

The dual-role is one that comes with a lot of separation. Separation that newly-appointed Vancouver Goldeneyes head coach Cara Gardner Morey felt wasn’t the right fit for her. 

Gardner Morey, who served as Vancouver’s general manager during the Goldeneyes’ inaugural PWHL season, was named her team’s new head coach on the morning of July 30. Notably, when the announcement was made, Vancouver was quick to emphasize that Gardner Morey would not be returning as the team’s GM after taking her new role. 

“I think if you want to take that on, you can probably do a very good job. You just have to have separation where you need separation,” Gardner Morey said during a media availability on Thursday afternoon. “Troy in San Jose is taking that on, and he is such an experienced person that I think he’s going to navigate it well. For me, I just was like, I want to take [coaching] on full-go. So I think that as long as you know where lines are drawn, you could do a good job at both.” 

Vancouver’s search for a new head coach began after the team parted ways with former bench boss Brian Idalski at the beginning of June. In speaking with Gardner Morey, the new head coach indicated that there will be “fairly little turnover” on the staff side of things, noting that both the Goldeneyes players and assistant coaches Myles Fitzgerald and B.J. Adams expressed their excitement and approval regarding her shift to coaching. 

“I did get to speak with our leadership group, our captains, and they were super supportive. Obviously there’s a bit of a luxury in familiarity and knowing what I believe in, knowing my vision,” she said. “I think there was excitement around knowing it was going to be me and knowing what I stand for and the familiarity of knowing that I believe in them as players.”  

Gardner Morey brings a wealth of experience to her new role as head coach of the Goldeneyes. In her 14 years as part of Princeton University’s womens hockey program, she helped her team to their first ECAC championship in 2019–20, setting the club’s new record in total wins in a single season with 26. 

During her time with Princeton, Gardner Morey coached a variety of PWHL talent, including defenders Claire Thompson (Vancouver Goldeneyes) and Mariah Keopple (PWHL San Jose), and forward Sarah Fillier (New York Sirens). She also served as an assistant coach for Canada’s U-18 team in 2016–17, during which she worked with now-Goldeneyes captain Ashton Bell. 

Already, Gardner Morey has an eye for how she envisions her team playing — a fast, high-octane style of play that’ll have fans leaping out of their seats come the start of the 2026–27 season. 

“It’s going to be a lot of speed, a lot of speed on the ice with not just skating speed, but puck movement, puck support. I think you’re going to see a really fierce physical team that’s really difficult to play against, and then ideally we want to have a lot of fun out there. So really creative with the puck, high offence.” 

High-flying offence will be a target for the Goldeneyes in 2026–27, especially given the slow start their production rate took coming out of the gates last year. 

“I’m hoping to be a high-scoring team with at least a lot of scoring chances. I want the fans to be having fun and excited when they’re watching our games. So, probably not the sit back and trap. Probably not seeing dump and chase. You’re going to see a lot of puck possession, a lot of playmaking, and a lot of fast transition.” 

With Gardner Morey’s shift to head coach, Vancouver now has a vacancy at the management level. Though she’s stepped away from her duties as GM, wanting to avoid the dual-role, the new bench boss will be part of the Goldeneyes selection process — whenever that ends up happening. The person in charge of management-level decisions, such as agreeing to a contract extension with RFA Maddy Samoskevich or signing the 2026 draft class to rookie contracts, will depend on the timeline it takes for the team to find their GM. 

“I think timing will matter. I want to be respectful that we keep things moving forward as a franchise, and I also want to respect the new GM and make sure that they’re set up in a great place moving forward, and I know they’re going to want to be involved in the decision,” she said. “If we move along quickly with a GM, they’ll be more involved. If it takes us a little bit longer to find the GM, then it might be something I continue to work on.”

The head coach opening has now been checked off Vancouver’s to-do list. Next up will be finding a new general manager.