Skip to content
Your daily dose of hockey
News

Mathieu Darche: the only current assistant GM with a chance with the Islanders
Raphael Simard
Mathieu Darche: the only current assistant GM with a chance with the Islanders
Credit: The Islanders are looking for their next general manager. With the lottery (New York won the first pick), the position is a little more attractive. But let’s just say that being the Islanders’ boss isn’t necessarily the most coveted position right now. The team doesn’t have the best team on paper, it doesn’t have the […]
The Islanders are looking for their next general manager.

With the lottery (New York won the first pick), the position is a little more attractive. But let’s just say that being the Islanders’ boss isn’t necessarily the most coveted position right now.

The team doesn’t have the best team on paper, it doesn’t have the best bank of prospects, its core is aging and Lou Lamoriello is still part of upper management. But for a guy like Mathieu Darche, who’s been waiting for his chance for ages, he certainly won’t say no.

The Islanders have very specific criteria in their search: a guy who already has experience managing a team and who has a track record of success. That’s one of the reasons why the club wanted to talk to Jeff Gorton. However, the feelings aren’t mutual at the moment.

Darche has been successful, but has never managed a team on his own. Still, he’s a serious candidate and the only current assistant GM who has a chance with the club.

Why wait?

Because the Québécois, even if he’s not a GM, has big responsibilities in Tampa Bay. Julie BriseBois entrusts him with a lot of administrative tasks, and he’s involved in a lot of hockey matters.

While he won’t say no to a team giving him his first chance as GM in the NHL, the job can turn against him pretty quickly. On the Radar podcast, my former colleague here at DLC, Olivier Paiement, said that general managers don’t necessarily get a second chance.

And given that Darche would inherit an average team overall, let’s just say he’ll have to prove that he’s a good negotiator, much like his mentor BriseBois, Kent Hughes and Bill Zito.

The Islanders’ ownership group (Scott Malkin, John Collins and Jon Ledecky) has already completed several interviews, including one with Marc Bergevin (who has experience and is not officially an “assistant GM”, but rather an advisor), one with Jarmo Kekkalainen and one with Darche, of course. According to Pierre LeBrun, one or two other executives will be interviewed, but their respective teams are still alive in the playoffs.

One thing’s for sure, the owners don’t want to delay the hiring and appoint someone very soon.

After all, the draft is just around the corner, and big administrative decisions await. Will Patrick Roy be the next GM’s man? That’s one of the questions.


Overtime

– It’s clear.

– Ah bon.

– Listen now.

– Logan Mailloux creates a tie.

– Read on.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!
More Content