The New York Islanders officially announced Mathieu Darche as their GM and executive vice-president on Friday.
Darche will manage all aspects of the Islanders’ hockey operations in his first NHL GM job, which suggests the team won’t hire a president of hockey operations for now. The former NHL player spent the past six seasons as the Tampa Bay Lightning’s director of hockey operations and assistant GM for the past three.
Islanders operating partner John Collins led the search for the person to replace Lou Lamoriello, who was GM and president of hockey operations from 2018-19 to the end of this season.
“Mathieu is the perfect choice to lead our hockey operations,” Collins said in a news release. “He will be given every resource available to put the Islanders first-in-class on the ice, with our business initiatives, and in the community.”
Darche’s arrival adds to the Islanders’ momentum after winning the NHL draft lottery earlier in May, Collins added.
“With the Islanders owning the first overall pick in the upcoming NHL draft and preparing to welcome the Olympic sendoff at UBS Arena next season, there is much to which our franchise, our players, and our passionate fans can look forward,” he said.
The Lightning made the playoffs in every season Darche was on GM Julien BriseBois’ staff, and they won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021. The Lightning have not been afraid to make big moves, either, such as acquiring Brandon Hagel, Jake Guentzel, trading Mikhail Sergachev and letting Steven Stamkos walk last summer.
Darche said he’s honored for this opportunity to lead the Islanders forward.
“I’d like to thank Scott Malkin, Jon Ledecky, John Collins, and the entire ownership group for entrusting me with the hockey operations of this great franchise.”
Before Darche joined the Lightning’s front office, he played 250 games in the NHL from 2001 to 2012. While he spent most of his playing career splitting seasons between the NHL and AHL and won the Calder Cup in 2004, he played a career-high 73 games with the Lightning in 2007-08 and recorded a career-high 26 points with the Montreal Canadiens in 2010-11.
The 48-year-old from Montreal has a lot on the to-do list.
The Islanders finished sixth in the Metropolitan Division with a .500 points percentage, the team’s lowest since 2017-18.
They also have seven pending RFAs to deal with, including No. 1 D-man Noah Dobson and fellow defensemen Adam Boqvist and Alexander Romanov. The Islanders also have five pending UFAs, including Kyle Palmieri on offense and Mike Reilly and Tony DeAngelo on the back end.
The Islanders have a projected $28.3 million in cap space next season, but only 14 of 23 slots are filled on the active roster.
There’s also the question about whether their No. 1 pick in the NHL draft will be in The Show next season. Defenseman Matthew Schaefer is the front-runner to be that selection, but he only played 24 games in the 2024-25 campaign between the OHL, world juniors and Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Reports came out earlier in the week that the Islanders had permission to interview outgoing Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan, but Darche got the full vote of confidence to handle all these action items in the hockey operations department without going the rebuilding route.
“Mathieu has served as a key member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and has a diverse background in top-level business models,” Collins said. “He is a proven winner and is committed, as is our ownership group, to building a group that will be highly competitive next season and beyond.”
Get the
latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by
subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below
the article on THN.com.
Promo image credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
Read the full article here
