ELMONT, NY — Mathieu Darche is going to complete the Islanders’ move away from the defensive style of hockey that put them back on the map during Lou Lamoriello’s seven-year reign — a philosophy that wavered upon the arrival of head coach Patrick Roy a year and a half ago.
With Roy staying at his post, the new Islanders’ general manager is promising a rebrand in the team’s style of play, one of a relentless team that stresses fast play and aggression on both sides of the ice.
“I want to see a fast-paced team,” Darche said during his introductory press conference on Thursday afternoon at UBS Arena. “By saying fast-paced, it doesn’t mean we’re playing offense, because you can’t win if you don’t defend. But playing defensive and defending are two different things. We want to attack. There’s nothing worse than a team that comes at you all the time. That’s what I want.”
The 48-year-old has spent the last six years as the president of hockey operations for the Tampa Bay Lightning, serving as a key decision-maker for a team that won two straight Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, which also featured victories over the Islanders at the semifinal stage of the playoffs.
A significant number of players from those teams are still on Long Island, though there has been significant regression since then, with playoff misses in two of the last four years, including this year’s .500 squad that narrowly missed the playoffs, prompting Lamoriello’s dismissal.
“This team probably should have been a playoff team,” Darche said. “Do we have work to do to improve it? Of course we do. This summer, that’s going to be my focus… We want to improve the team. Does it happen overnight? No. But even when you’re No. 1 in the NHL, you’re trying to improve your team every single day. You’re making decisions to increase the odds of your team winning the Stanley Cup.
“We have a plan to improve the team, but it’s going to happen over time. I don’t think this team is a team that can’t make the playoffs. I think this team can make the playoffs. “
Darche hinted that the foundation of those teams can still help the Islanders become a “perennial playoff team,” but the stress moving forward will be put on an all-around game rather than prioritizing just defense.
“There’s a lot of good players on this team,” Darche said. “That core here has had success the last little while. It was a tougher year last year, but you still have to defend. Don’t take this as I want to play with pace, and I don’t care about defense. If you don’t defend, even when the Lightning won the two Cups, everybody thinks it’s all offense. No, the team defended better than everybody else. That doesn’t mean that you weren’t scoring goals. So that’s what I want, and over time, we’re always going to build the team toward that. You need everything.”
While he has been at the helm for less than a week, Darche revealed that he has already had conversations with “most of” the agents of New York’s free agents. Granted, his first priority is to prep for the 2025 NHL Draft, which sees the Islanders hold the No. 1 overall pick.
He expects to make the pick, but will do his due diligence and listen to any potential offers, though it would have to “knock my socks off” to actually deal it away.
“Every day, my focus will be to improve the New York Islanders and make us a winning organization,” Darche said. “I want this team to be a perennial playoff team and go for the Stanley Cup. That’s the goal. It’s not always a straight line, but every single day, every decision I make, it will not be for Mathieu Darche, not for anybody else, but the best thing for the New York Islanders.”
