The New York Islanders today named Mathieu Darche the General Manager and Executive Vice President. Darche will manage all aspects of the team’s hockey operations.
“Mathieu is the perfect choice to lead our hockey operations,” Islanders Operating Partner, John Collins said. “He will be given every resource available to put the Islanders first-in-class on the ice, with our business initiatives, and in the community. Mathieu has served as a key member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and has a diverse background in top-level business models. He is a proven winner and is committed, as is our ownership group, to building a group that will be highly competitive next season and beyond.”
“With the Islanders owning the first overall pick in the upcoming NHL Draft and preparing to welcome the Olympic sendoff at UBS Arena next season, there is much to which our franchise, our players, and our passionate fans can look forward,” Collins added. “Mathieu’s arrival adds to that momentum.”
“I am truly honored by the opportunity to be the New York Islanders General Manager and Executive Vice President,” Darche said. “I’d like to thank Scott Malkin, Jon Ledecky, John Collins, and the entire ownership group for entrusting me with the hockey operations of this great franchise.”
Darche joins the Islanders after serving as the Lightning’s Assistant General Manager the past three seasons. The St. Laurent, QC native won two Stanley Cup Championships with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021. He started his career with Tampa Bay at the start of the 2019-20 season as Director of Hockey Operations, with the team qualifying for the playoffs in each season he was a member of the Lightning.
During his playing career, Darche, a forward, played in 250 regular-season NHL games and 18 playoff games for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, Lightning, and Montreal Canadiens. Darche served as one of the player representatives during the 2012-13 NHL lockout that assisted in negotiating the collective bargaining agreement. He played in 552 American Hockey League regular season games and won the Calder Cup with the Milwaukee Admirals in 2004.
Darche attended McGill University where he earned his Commerce Degree in Marketing and International Business. He was inducted into McGill’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015. Darche served as Vice-President of Sales and Marketing in Canada for Delmar International, a Canadian customs brokerage firm.
Darche and his wife Stephanie have two boys, Samuel and Benjamin.
