Centre Sarah Nurse is returning to the Vancouver Goldeneyes. The 31-year-old forward from Hamilton was a pending free agent, but the team announced Tuesday afternoon that she had re-signed with Vancouver, inking a two-year deal that keeps her in Goldeneyes gear through the 2027-28 campaign. With the contract, Nurse becomes the first of three protected players in the PWHL's expansion roster distribution process.
Vancouver has until tomorrow at 2 p.m. to submit their three-player list to the league office. Only players signed for next season are eligible. Potential protection options for Vancouver include star defender Sophie Jaques and starting goalie Emerance Maschmeyer.
The PWHL is expanding from eight teams to 12 teams this year, adding clubs in San Jose, Las Vegas, Detroit and Nurse's hometown of Hamilton. Signing with Hamilton seemed like a strong possibility for Nurse.
The Goldeneyes were an expansion team last season, and Nurse was one of their five inaugural signings after spending the first two seasons in the PWHL with the Toronto Sceptres. She missed 11 games with Vancouver due to an upper-body injury but tied Jaques and Jenn Gardiner for the team lead in goals, with nine apiece. Nurse finished with 15 points through 19 games.
The three-time Canadian Olympian won silver in 2018 and 2026 and gold in 2022, breaking the points record (18) for a single Olympic tournament and being named Best Forward in Beijing. Nurse is also a six-time World Championship medallist, including three gold medal victories.
Beyond her hockey resume, Nurse has a substantial social media following, with 174,000 followers on Instagram and 153,000 on TikTok. She has been crucial in building the Goldeneyes' following. Despite struggling in the standings, the team finished second in attendance in the PWHL, with an announced average of 11,235 fans at their games at the Pacific Coliseum.
