Daniele Sauvageau Returns to Hockey Canada as General Manager
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The former Olympic gold medalist takes over the national women's team with a mandate to secure gold in 2030.
Hockey Canada has appointed 64-year-old Daniele Sauvageau as the general manager of the national women's team, according to reporting from Sportsnet. Sauvageau, who previously led Canada to Olympic gold in 2002 as both coach and GM, succeeds Gina Kingsbury, the Toronto Sceptres general manager whose eight-year contract as Canada's GM ended in June.
Sauvageau will balance two roles for the 2026-27 season, remaining the general manager of the Professional Women's Hockey League's (PWHL) Montreal Victoire. However, Hockey Canada stated that Sauvageau is expected to transition into a full-time GM and vice-president of hockey operations for the national team starting next year for the remainder of her contract. PWHL executive vice-president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford praised the appointment as a "tremendous win for women's hockey."
Sauvageau enters the role facing immediate pressure, with a world championship scheduled for November in Denmark. She noted that she was brought into the program for her "vision, for ethics, for decisions" to ensure the team is prepared for the 2030 Olympics. This follows a recent loss to the United States in the February final in Milan, Italy.
The selection process involved a committee including Hockey Canada CEO Katherine Henderson, vice-president of hockey operations Misha Donskov, senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations Scott Salmond, and Own The Podium high-performance adviser Cara Thibault. Also on the committee were former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving, and national team figures Gillian Apps, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, and Therese Brisson.