As we reported earlier this week, two former members of the Montreal Canadiens were in the running for the New York Islanders’ general manager role: former GM Marc Bergevin and former player Mathieu Darche.
The Islanders elected to go for Darche, who was named GM and executive vice president. Even though he has never held a GM role in the NHL, Darche has worked for the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2019. He was first hired as the director of hockey operations and later appointed assistant GM in 2022. He got his name on the Stanley Cup with the Bolts in 2020 and 2021. When the Canadiens hired Kent Hughes in January 2022, Darche was one of the finalists for the role.
Could The Canadiens Poach A Maple Leaf In Free Agency?
Canadiens: The Wedding Season Is Upon Us
Former Canadiens Prospect Backstops Denmark To Historic Win Over Canada
For the last three years, he has worked closely with Lightning GM Julien BriseBois, who learned to ply his trade under Steve Yzerman for eight years before being given the reins when Yzerman departed for the Detroit Red Wings.
There’s no doubt Darche has learned from the best. The Bolts never missed the playoffs in his tenure, and BriseBois is known as a cap wizard. He managed to keep the Lightning competitive through roster turnovers and has a perennial contender on his hands.
Darche’s appointment means that Marc Bergevin will remain a part of the Los Angeles Kings’ organization as special advisor to newly appointed Ken Holland, who takes over from Rob Blake. It’s not the first time Bergevin has tried to get another GM job and is unsuccessful.
Now things get interesting. Will Darche be amenable to trading Noah Dobson? Lou Lamoriello had made it clear in the past that he was available. Will the new GM share the same view? This is one case Hughes should be monitoring closely.
Photo credit: Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens’ page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Read the full article here
