ELMONT, NY—For seven years, the New York Islanders were an impenetrable fortress guarded relentlessly and loyally by former president and general manager Lou Lamoriello.
Everything is as close to the vest as possible. Nothing in, nothing out.
That philosophy has obviously worked well for the 82-year-old. Three decades ago, he won three Stanley Cups with the New Jersey Devils, bolstering his Hall-of-Fame resume.
It also helped turn the Islanders franchise around after he took over ahead of the 2018-19 season. What could only be described at times as isolation, which was fueled by the COVID pandemic, he built a team that had a single playoff series win in 25 years — helped along by the superb coaching of Barry Trotz — to one that made back-to-back Stanley Cup semifinals in 2020 and 2021.
Access, especially for the fan base, was limited. Roster moves were shrouded in mystery. Trade deadlines were met with perennial debates of “will they? Won’t they?” as even the most connected insiders were stumped.
But there was stability for a franchise that had not had it for decades. This, after all, was the most successful spell the Islanders had experienced since the 1980s, when they won four straight Stanley Cups.
Today’s NHL has changed, though. For as much stress is put on a team that contends, its connectability with its fan base and the outside NHL world in general is just as important — and that was something that was considerably lacking.
Players who were in the inner sanctum swore by it, which understandably presented mixed emotions when Mathieu Darche was introduced as the team’s new general manager on Thursday at UBS Arena. For as much excitement as there was for a new era after the Islanders grew stale under Lamoriello, who had complete autonomy of the day-to-day operations, with just two playoff appearances in the last four years, his work turning things around and the relationships he built with his players left everlasting impressions.
“It was a pretty special bond,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “Lou was phenomenal. He played a lot of different roles. He was a mentor. He could tell it to you straight. He wasn’t afraid to tell you what you didn’t want to hear as a player. So you always knew what you needed to work on. The values that he has as a person and the character that he often shared with you and the wisdom, you always walked out of a meeting with Lou a little bit better.”
But the Islanders remained a tough sell to top free agents and, for the most part, could not build a brand that should have experienced a significant boon behind their success earlier this decade and the opening of their state-of-the-art home at UBS Arena in 2021.
As trivial as it may seem, what is consumed by the public helps. So, at Darche’s introductory press conference on Thursday, I thought it pertinent to ask just how important transparency was—not just with his players and staff but also with the fan base.
“With the players, I chatted with every one of them. It’s a communication thing,” Darche responded. “At the end of the day, I’m the general manager, I will make the decisions, but I like it from my staff. I’m going to rely and always believe in hiring strong people to do their job. As a general manager, you can’t be running the amateur department, you can’t be running the pro department. You have to put the right people in place and let them do their job.”
It is important to note that this was asked at a physical press conference at the UBS Club in the arena , with media joined by roughly 200 season-ticket holders and team/arena employees. Compare that to any significant hiring or signing over the last seven years, which was only given a phone or Zoom call for reporters, and that was before and well after COVID.
“As far as the media and the fans, I’m going to communicate as much as possible,” Darche continued. “If I’m almost making a trade, will I say it? Probably not. But I’m open for communication, I’m always going to be honest with you, whether it’s a hard conversation or not. I’m going to be honest. That’s my way of being with people… The fans are passionate, so they want to know everything, I get it, but I still have to do my job the best way possible. So I’ll be as transparent as I can, that’s the way it’s going to work.”
That sentiment was put to the test immediately, and he proved it in spades.
In 25 minutes, he disclosed that Patrick Roy would return as the Islanders’ head coach, the coaching staff at AHL Bridgeport would be entirely overhauled, and that star center Bo Horvat’s ankle injury was “nothing serious.”
The latter was something I especially wanted to ask, considering the culture surrounding injuries in the NHL. Normally, results are limited to upper body or lower body, and timetables are day-to-day, week-to-week, or indefinitely.
Not only did Darche disclose the specific injury that Horvat suffered while playing with Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships two weeks ago, but he added that it was a four-to-six knock and he is “already rehabbing.”
The 48-year-old former assistant GM who helped assemble the Tampa Bay Lightning into two-time Stanley Cup champions’ first priority is obviously to build a “perennial” playoff team on Long Island. But the ancillary benefit of newfound clarity should only help the organization move forward.
