Mathieu Darche to become NY Islanders GM as new era begins on Long Island

According to multiple reports, the New York Islanders are set to announce Mathieu Darche as the new General Manager. After searching for Lou Lamoriello's replacement for a month, John Collins and Isles' ownership group are going with the Tampa Bay Lightning front office mainstay to take the reins from Lamoriello. The Lou era is done. The Darche era? It's on deck.

Let’s just take a minute and breathe this in. For the first time in what feels like a hockey lifetime, the Islanders are putting their future in the hands of someone not named Lamoriello. That alone is headline-worthy. But bringing in Darche? That’s a calculated swing for the fences.

Darche, 48, has spent the last few years helping build Tampa Bay into a perennial powerhouse alongside Julien BriseBois. Darche is known for being modern-minded, analytically inclined, and deeply respected across the league. Don’t expect sweeping changes on day one, but expect a sharp shift in approach. Innovative, aggressive, forward-thinking? That’s the word out of Tampa. And now, it's headed to Long Island.

What the hiring for Darche means for the President of Hockey Operations job, and specifically Brendan Shanahan, is still to be seen. The Islanders asked for permission to speak to Shanahan two days ago, but it's unclear whether he would take a job without having been part of the GM process.

Marc Beregvin was reported to be the other finalist for the GM job, as the former Montreal GM had a second interview with the team. The Islanders also spoke to Ken Holland before he turned to the vacant Los Angeles Kings job and wanted to, but weren't able to speak to Canadiens executive and former New York Rangers GM, Jeff Gorton.

It's a new day, and a new era on Long Island. There's a big job ahead of Darche, but one that he has prepared his post-playing life for, and now he has the chance to bring the Islanders organization to the same levels of success seen in the early years of Lamoriello and hopefully beyond that.