Islanders Announce Darche & Release a Very Telling Statement

The New York Islanders made the news of the day official this Friday afternoon. After a 31-day search, the Islanders hired Mathieu Darche as their General Manager and additionally named him an Executive Vice President.

Specifically, the team’s statement read as follows: “Darche will manage all aspects of the team’s hockey operations.”

From that alone, it makes it very clear that Darche wields absolute power within the organization. The 48-year-old takes the Islanders from having the oldest executive in sports to one of the youngest. All around the league, Darche is widely respected. He nearly landed the Pittsburgh Penguins gig in 2023 until Kyle Dubas became available.

Darche released a statement with the team that read as follows: “I am truly honored by the opportunity to be the New York Islanders General Manager and Executive Vice President. 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.”

However, what Darche said may not matter so much. It’s how John Collins’ fingerprints are all over every aspect of this.

Collins’ Statement:

The most intriguing piece of this announcement is that of John Collins’ statement. First, it’s known he spearheaded the search. Here’s some of his statement:

“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… 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.”

Well, if that’s not planting your flag, then I don’t know what is. Collins immediately makes it clear the Islanders will not, as some reports indicated, fail to spend to the cap or limit their new general manager. More specifically, the statement directly reads that the Islanders want to be contenders, not a rebuild.

Goodbye, unfounded Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat trade rumors. Hello, Mitch Marner sweepstakes. The Islanders are throwing their hats firmly in the ring. Armed with two 2026 1sts, perhaps the Islanders will try to make an aggressive trade.

While still unclear, one can expect Kyle Palmieri to stick around after a statement like that. A perennial 25-goal scorer and leader for the Islanders, it would not make sense to move on from him if the price is right. There are many other candidates for the Islanders to move on from to change this core.

Isaac Howard, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s top prospect and plug-and-play top-six NHL winger, is available. Perhaps Darche wants to bring him in.

With one sentence at the end of his statement, John Collins dismissed any notions of a full rebuild. Armed with nearly $30 million in cap space, Darche has tons of flexibility at his disposal.