Darche won two Stanley Cups in Tampa Bay front office, negotiated CBA with NHLPA in 2013 and managed customs brokerage prior to signing with Islanders
The Mathieu Darche era is set to begin on Long Island.
Darche, 48, was named the New York Islanders’ General Manager and Executive Vice President on Friday, a monumental moment for the rising management star and first-time GM.
Yes, it’s Darche’s first time being the final decision maker, but with a resume that includes a pair of Stanley Cups as part of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s brain trust, a CBA negotiation with the NHLPA, customs brokering and 12-year pro playing career, it’s far from his first rodeo.
First and foremost, Darche boasts worthy hockey credentials, having been a key part of Tampa Bay’s success over the past six seasons. The Montreal, QC native joined the Lightning’s front office as the Director of Hockey Ops in 2019 and was promoted to Assistant General Manager in 2023, holding both positions.
Islanders players and fans won’t remember his time there fondly, as the Bolts eliminated the Isles in the third round of the playoffs in 2020 and 2021, en route to consecutive Stanley Cups. In total, Darche won two Stanley Cups and went to the Stanley Cup Final three times with the Lightning, while the team posted a 268-147-39 record during the regular season. With his name stamped on the Stanley Cup, Darche is looking to bring that experience to Long Island and put his stamp on the Islanders.
Darche’s role with the Lightning involved negotiating player contracts and managing the salary cap. He’s a long-term planner, telling The Block Party podcast that he’s always thinking three years ahead with the cap. He isn’t afraid to use cap space to broker deals and acquire assets either, noting that Tampa got a fourth-round pick to facilitate Adam Henrique’s trade from Anaheim to Edmonton last year.
#Isles News: The New York Islanders today named Mathieu Darche General Manager and Executive Vice President. Darche will manage all aspects of the team’s hockey operations.
He’s far from just a number’s guy, telling The Block Party prefers to think of it as valuing contracts vs valuing players, to avoid the mindset of treating players like objects. Darche said he relies on all the tools available to him from analytics to player visits, to empowering his scouts and their expertise.
Given his success in Tampa Bay, Darche has been considered a rising star in hockey management circles the past few seasons. In addition to his hockey prowess, Darche has a strong and varied business acumen, starting with a with a commerce degree, majoring in marketing and international business from Montreal’s McGill, one of Canada’s most prestigious schools.
After a 12-year pro career, which included parts of nine NHL seasons with Columbus, Nashville, San Jose, Tampa Bay and Montreal, as well as 552 AHL games, winning a Calder Cup in 2004 with Milwaukee, Darche was part of the NHLPA’s negotiating team during the 2012-13 NHL lockout. The French-Canadian helped craft a 10-year collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which was the longest in league history and was extended an additional four years in July 2020.
Heading into the future. pic.twitter.com/UYc6N1YvV8
He stepped away from the game and into the business world shortly after CBA negotiations becoming VP of Sales and Marketing in Canada for Delmar International Inc., a customs broker based out of Montreal with 7,000 customers worldwide. According to The Athletic, Darche managed a staff of 40, so he’d gained experience managing a large team even before setting foot in an NHL front office. He credits that experience with helping him manage budgets as well, which he said are transferrable to his time in Tampa.
Darche’s path has never been traditional, going back to his days as a two-sport athlete (hockey and football) at McGill, but he’s thrived in every environment and earned his opportunities. Take his senior year at McGill, 1999-2000, where he was leading the Canadian University circuit in scoring, but not necessarily attracting attention from NHL teams. He was friends with the son of a New Jersey Devils scout, and by happenstance, Lou Lamoriello took in a game at McGill when New Jersey was in town, which Darche credits for sparking interest from NHL teams and allowing him to turn pro. Perhaps on some level, it’s a little fitting that Darche is taking over for Lamoriello.
Darche has plenty of experience most first-time GMs do not have both in an NHL front office, the NHLPA and the business world that will serve him with the Islanders. Make no mistake, Darche is all business – and will surely be excited to get down to business as he begins a new era on Long Island.
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