The NHL Draft is in just three days. The New York Islanders hold the first overall pick, and General Manager Mathieu Darche holds the key to the city.
He confirmed, if anyone needed to hear it, that he’s “not trading the one.” Reporters asked multiple times about his plans in the draft, along with his RFAs and trade market, Darche played coy.
Let’s break it down.
On the First Overall Pick:
Darche would not name any names, nor did he give any particular clues about whom the Islanders will take, despite all signals pointing to Matthew Schaefer.
What Darche did say, however, is that the Islanders will be getting a “special player.” Darche also confirmed that he thinks whoever the Islanders take will have a serious chance at making the opening right roster and playing in the NHL right away.
The only two players given any chance at that in this draft, seemingly, have been Schaefer and Michael Misa.
On the Staffing Hires:
Darche made one thing clear with his staffing hires: Patrick Roy hired his coaches. Specifically, he used the verbiage “Patrick zeroed in on Bob [Boughner] and Ray [Bennett].” After confirming that Roy essentially made the hires, Darche confirmed Boughner will coach the defense and penalty kill, while Bennett will handle the power play.
Darche said he did his due diligence on the hires. Darche said both special teams need to improve. Darche gave Roy his chance. He will either sink or swim come October.
As for Ryan Bowness, Darche said, “I brought in Ryan (Bowness) because I felt we had a gap there in the in player personnel, so that’s why I brought him in right away.”
Darche confirmed it remains the status quo for Chris Lamoriello and Steve Pellegrini.
The RFAs & Trade Chatter:
Darche spoke in the common tongue when it came to his RFAs. The negotiations are normal and cordial. He’s still having talks with all four key RFAs.
At one point, when talking about a different topic, Darche cracked a joke about player agents being excited about the salary cap rising. That would point directly to the perceived initial high asking price for Noah Dobson (and, quietly, Alexander Romanov).
He did not exactly put to rest any trade rumors, though.
As for trading back up in the draft, Darche could not have been more coy.
“…You look at everything… Every day, I’m trying to make the New York Islanders better.”
Darche went on to say, if a deal made sense, he’d trade back into the top 10. But he also made it clear, if there’s a player in the NHL now who’s available for the right price, he won’t hesitate to trade other picks for that player.
Which, when you have two first-round picks in 2026, is certainly notable. There are whispers about Jordan Kyrou’s availability, and he’s a player of serious intrigue for the Islanders, though it would take a lot more than a future first. Ditto that for Elias Pettersson, a player the Islanders have been linked to before.
The trade tide is rising in the NHL. The Islanders have plenty of assets.
