Mathieu Darche wasn’t considered for NY Islanders GM at the beginning of the search process

After an extensive search process, Mathieu Darche has taken over as General Manager of the NY Islanders. With the 2025 NHL Draft 24 days away and free agency beginning four days later, Darche is working hard to prepare for his first season in charge.

Though John Collins seems confident in his decision to appoint Darche, electing not to hire a President of Hockey Operations, Darche wasn’t Collins's first choice and may not have been considered at the beginning of this process.

Darche won the job

“Darche came out of nowhere to win that job,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on the Real Kyper and Bourne podcast. ”At the beginning, there was no way they were hiring someone with no experience. He won that job.”

As an assistant GM with the Tampa Bay Lightning and two Stanley Cups under his belt, Darche has been widely considered one of the top candidates for a GM job without any experience. He nearly earned the job with the Pittsburgh Penguins before ultimately naming Kyle Dubas to the position. But it appears Collins originally had his eyes set elsewhere.

“They interviewed [Ken] Holland… he turned it down,” Friedman stated. “If Jeff Gorton was available he probably would have had the job, but he wasn’t available. But you know, [Marc] Bergevin was there, [Jarmo] Kekäläinen was there, and Darche beat all those guys out for the job. They’re going to give him a chance to do what he wants to do.”

Holland, now the GM of the Los Angeles Kings, preferred to be on the West Coast, and Gorton, Executive VP of Hockey Operations for the Montreal Canadiens, was not given permission to interview for the position by the Habs.

Darche is likely aware he was not the first choice, but now the job is his and he’ll be given every opportunity to prove he is the best man for the job.