The New York Islanders introduced Mathieu Darche as the general manager (GM) on Thursday, May 29, and the 48-year-old executive gave his first press conference to the fans and media. The big takeaway, aside from the transparency and communication with the fanbase, was his desire to build through the farm system.
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Darche wants the Islanders to become a contender with prospects and a strong American Hockey League (AHL) team in place. It’s the opposite of Lou Lamoriello, who neglected the Bridgeport Islanders, especially in his final season as the GM, and it explains why the Islanders made the change and pivoted towards Darche.
The Islanders aren’t rebuilding, at least not yet. However, they will build a contending team through the farm system and a strong prospect pool. Cole Eiserman and Calum Ritchie are already in the system, and a first-overall pick is on the way. Darche building around that trio will have its side effects, and the Islanders are already starting to see the impact of it.
Darche Already Making Changes in Bridgeport
The big news bomb early on in the press conference is that Bridgeport Islanders’ head coach, Rick Kowalsky, and the coaching staff are out. It was a change that many could see coming but became official on Thursday. Darche will bring in someone who can develop the prospects and also change the culture for the AHL team. Under Lamoriello, all that mattered were the handful of prospects who could make an impact at the NHL level. Now, winning matters as well.
Darche spent more years in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch than he did in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Crunch were always a well-run AHL team and valued developing and winning equally. Darche knows the value of a great AHL team and it will be a big deal for the Islanders and their hopes of becoming a juggernaut. It’s no coincidence that the Florida Panthers — who won the Eastern Conference — and the Dallas Stars — who are in the Western Conference Final — have AHL teams in the Calder Cup semifinal rounds in the Charlotte Checkers and Texas Stars. A good AHL team says a lot about the organization.
The Islanders have a few prospects who can make an impact in the NHL. They need a lot to turn things around in the long run. The Bridgeport fanbase suffered enough last season after watching the AHL team go 15-50-4-3 and win only four games at home. They deserve a winner and will finally get one under Darche’s watch.
The question is what must happen to turn around one of the worst AHL teams in league history? A new coach is a start, and Darche will have his hands full finding one to lead the team to wins on the ice and develop the young skaters. The other factor is the front office, specifically, the GM and AHL team staff.
Darche was non-committal about the front office, a sign that Chris Lamoriello might stick around. The outside noise suggests more changes are coming. The Crunch GM, Stacy Roest, left the position and is available. Darche will ideally bring him in to help the AHL team but Roest will likely ask for a promotion from the GM job and could look for NHL opportunities, making a change far from a sure thing. The bottom line is that the Islanders are starting to rebuild the farm system, and it starts with a GM invested in doing so.
Roy is Safe, For Now
One of the first things Darche noted during the presser is that head coach Patrick Roy will remain behind the bench, noting that Roy is a winner and the right coach for the Islanders’ job. He got the most out of the group in the 2023-24 season but the 2024-25 season, especially the end when the Islanders fell apart, was concerning.
It’s easy to look at Roy as the answer for the coaching job. Ideally, he will stay to keep the Islanders competitive while Darche builds up a strong prospect pool. The problem is the Islanders don’t have a great roster, and if the team misses the playoffs for the second season in a row, it will be hard to keep him behind the bench.
Darche wants the Islanders in the playoffs next season but the reality is they aren’t a playoff team. If that’s the case next season as well, the Islanders will be staring at a rebuild and not a retool on the fly. So, one year from now, Darche might need to find a coach who is suited to help this team rebuild, and Roy isn’t the answer.
The other layer to everything is that eventually Darche will want to make the hire and bring in a coach who reflects his vision. Most GMs who join a team with a returning coach wait at least one season but then make a change. The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Brad Treliving as their GM in the 2023 offseason and replaced Sheldon Keefe the next offseason. The Philadelphia Flyers hired Daniel Briere in 2023 and replaced John Tortorella in 2025. Darche will be patient with Roy but history suggests he’ll do the same, unless Roy is one of the rare transcendent coaches.
Firing Roy this offseason would have pointed to instability or a sign that Darche has a quick trigger and makes impulsive decisions, when the reality is he doesn’t. His patience was why he was hired in the first place as a pivot from Lamoriello, who operated with an urgency to win. It’s why Roy will have at least one more season behind the bench. If he gets the most out of the group and wills them to the playoffs, it’s a sign he’ll remain the coach for the future. It makes next season a big one for him as he must take a team that isn’t set up to make the playoffs, one that might sell at the trade deadline, and get them in as a wild card at the minimum.
What Happens With the Islanders’ Core?
The question for the Islanders is whether they are retooling on the fly or rebuilding. Based on Darche’s opening press conference, the team is willing to take the long route and emphasize building from the draft and development. The Islanders can still make a push for the playoffs while doing that but if they are rebuilding, it’s a sign that some players will be on the way out.
The Islanders have multiple skaters in their 30s, and some are playing on expiring contracts. The defense trio of Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, and Scott Mayfield all have multiple seasons remaining on their contracts but Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau are heading to free agency in the 2026 offseason. It makes both skaters expendable, and if the team isn’t competitive next season, Darche will look to trade them.
The question is, if the Islanders are indeed rebuilding, what happens to Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, Alexander Romanov, and Noah Dobson? They are the core players right now and will likely be veterans by the time the prospects are making an impact at a high level, not just making an appearance on the roster. The four skaters can remain as veterans for the future team but Darche can also move them with hopes of going all in on a rebuild. If Darche is looking to win with younger players, trading one of the elite players on the roster will give him plenty of youth to work with.
The opening presser indicated Darche’s openness to retooling or rebuilding the Islanders. He will have the time to take either route. Darche wants to contend with the pipeline leading the way, and he’s betting on his ability to make changes from the ground up. Other teams have better rebuilds in the works and a head start but few have a GM with a plan like the Islanders do. Now, it’s about him putting that plan into action.
