May 23, 2025 • 8 mins
Earlier today, the Isles hired Lightning Assistant GM Mathieu Darche to become their next GM and VP of Hockey Operations. My thoughts on the hire and what this means for the future of the Islanders franchise.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Pag's Perspective with your host Ryan Pagano.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
We are songs back, Baby. The Eleander is hiring Matthew
Darsh today as their next general manager, the one hire
that all Isles fans really really wanted, and it has happened.
The Islanders front office man of the people today. They're
listening to what the fans want and there is hope
(00:39):
once again here on Long Island.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
So Matthew Darsh, get familiar with him Isles fans because
this is going to be the man making the first
overall pick in the twenty twenty five NHL Draft in
Los Angeles and about a month from now, where the
consensus most likely defenseman Matthew Schaeffer, who a lot of
scouts say is NHL ready right now. But you also
have a lot of people here on Long Island wanting
(01:05):
to bring Hagen's home with the first pick. It's become
a movement here on the island. I've seen pictures that
people have taken on social media of bring Hagen's Home
bumper stickers being handed out, which is just pretty funny.
You know, you're commuting to work along whatever parkway it is,
whether it's a Southern State, Meadowbrook, Northern State, wherever the heck,
and then you just passed by a jeep with a
(01:27):
bring Hagen's home sticker kids, Long Island born. A lot
of fans would love to see that happen. I personally
would love to see that happen, although maybe not with
the first pick, especially with Matthew Schaeffer on the board.
But yes, Matthew darsh gonna have a very intriguing decision
on his hands and he has a month to make
that happen. Gonna be his first significant act as isles GM,
(01:51):
first significant act as an nhl GM, because yes, this
is his first nhl GM gig. Before that, he was
in Tampa Bays front office since twenty nineteen, where he
was a big part in the Lightning winning two Stanley
Cupps was a candidate for quite a few openings the
past few years, and now just like that, he has
landed his first NHLGM gig, which a lot of fans
(02:13):
are really really happy about because he was the consensus
best candidate out there. I know there were a lot
of other rumored candidates, among them Mark Bergjavon, who still
could be rumored to become president of Hockey Ops. Stick
a pin in that for right now. I'll get back
to that in a moment. Also Ken Holland, who had
retired from the Oilers after the twenty twenty four Stanley
(02:35):
Cup Finals, but unretired to take a position with the
La Kings. Speaking of the Kings franchise legend Rob Blake
being let go by their front office, he was viewed
as a potential candidate too, and the Maple Leafs recently
letting go of Brendan Shanahan, their president of Hockey Ops,
so he's been in play for a potential role on
the Island. A lot of rumors at least before the
(02:56):
Darsh hiring earlier today, potentially pointing to it's him becoming
the Islanders president of Hockey Operations, But now there's a
lot of questions with that. With the team hiring a GM,
will there even be a new president of hockey operations.
No one really knows at this point, but all signs
saying it is very unlikely that would be the case,
(03:18):
especially since Darsh is now going to be the vice
president of Hockey Operations now if they wanted to keep
this in house technically, lou Lamorello is still under contract
until June the thirtieth, and whether this is true or not,
there is some speculation that the front office, who already
told him that his contract as GM and President of
(03:39):
Hockey Operations dual role wasn't going to be renewed for
twenty five twenty six. And also with the rumors that
the Sabers might be interested in hiring Lou Lamarello in
some role, whether it's as President of Hockey Operations or
as a senior advisor to their front office, there is interest.
A fan actually recently spotted Lambarello walking around in the
(03:59):
Buffalo International Airports, so there atas seems to be a
little bit of validity to that rumor. But now Shanahan's
going to be out of play, especially since he won't
be able to make his own general manager higher. Could
they keep Luan but just have him as the president
of Hockey Operations only? I guess we'll soon find out
there now. I know a lot of fans were rejoicing
(04:19):
in the fact that Lou was moving on very unpopular opinion,
but I actually would be okay with Lou staying only
as President of Hockey Operations, and especially if that means
he's not going to be the one calling the shots.
I would be okay keeping Luan in that regard, being
some sort of an advisor to a first timer in Darsh,
(04:40):
so I could very well see that happening, especially if
Berjavon doesn't want to take on a President of Hockey
Operations role. He was allegedly the finalist in the Isles
GM job per sources, and I'd still be open to
him as President of Hockey Operations, although my first choice
would preferably be Brendan Shanahan in that regard, although it
seems pretty unlikely now that they have brought in a GM.
(05:03):
I mean, they did receive permission from Toronto to speak
to Shanahan, and this was after they decided his contract
wouldn't be renewed. But that said, Darsh is the only
higher expected at that time, so Isles fans don't expect
much more shuffling in the front office, at least for
right now, because all the focus has officially turned to Schaefer,
(05:24):
Misa or Higins. The one question that all Isles fans
are going to be asking NonStop from now until they're
on the clock in the twenty twenty five NHL draft,
And there's also a pretty crucial offseason as well, with
the Isles being top ten in salary cap space going
into the NHL free agency period, and that was also
(05:45):
another big selling point for the GM gig. Here was
the potential to bring in a big fish in the
off season with all that cap space, like a Mitch
Marner or somebody else. And following the draft, those are
going to be questions that darsh will have to figure
out a specially with the amount of RFAs the Isles
will have in the offseason, among them, No adoptson Alex
(06:06):
Tremanov Simon Holmstrom. Their contracts are all set to expire.
Plus Kyle Paul Mary's going to be a UFA even
with his agent and Lou Lamarello working on an extension
before he got the boot last month, the isles biggest
pending RFA. NOA adoptson his status being up in the air,
and the fan base really divided on whether or not
(06:26):
to keep him or potentially let him walk in maybe
get a haul worth of draft picks for him. Now,
if you were to ask any Ales fan after last season,
if Dobson was worthy of whatever he wanted to be paid,
any Ailes fan, myself included, would have said, yes, absolutely,
he is our best offensive defenseman since Pop Finn just
came off a seventy point season. Lock him the heck up.
(06:48):
But if you were to ask any Isles fan now,
I'm willing to bet a lot of them would say no,
you know, we've seen exactly what we've needed to see
from him. I don't really see much more growth than
the kid. I'd be fine with having him move on,
letting some other team overpay for him, and getting a
bunch of draft picks back, depending on the offer now, personally,
depending on how much money he would hypothetically be signed for.
(07:10):
I really wouldn't be all that mad with Dobson walking,
because it really depends on the draft pick haul in
the end. Another big talking point about the Islanders future
has been that they've had the worst farm system in
the league by far, concerns that have been sort of
alleviated with the acquisition of cal Ritchie and the Brock
Nelson trade deadline deal with the Avs, which looks like
(07:32):
it is just backfiring on them, Brock unlikely to return
to the Aves and being seen as nothing more than
a rental, especially in light of Colorado's first round loss
to a Stanley Cup hopeful in the Dallas Stars. Depending
on where Brock goes, even if he goes back to
the Island, that has the potential to be one of
the worst trades in the history of the Aves. As
(07:53):
much as I hate to say it, that could very
well be a possibility. So yes, a lot of questions
for Darti to answer as he gets to work for
his first off season on Long Island, and as he
gets ready to learn the terms B E, C, SPK
and transfer at Jamaica. Hopium is once again flowing through
the air in Isles Nation.
Welcome to Pag's Perspective with your host Ryan Pagano.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
We are songs back, Baby. The Eleander is hiring Matthew
Darsh today as their next general manager, the one hire
that all Isles fans really really wanted, and it has happened.
The Islanders front office man of the people today. They're
listening to what the fans want and there is hope
(00:39):
once again here on Long Island.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
So Matthew Darsh, get familiar with him Isles fans because
this is going to be the man making the first
overall pick in the twenty twenty five NHL Draft in
Los Angeles and about a month from now, where the
consensus most likely defenseman Matthew Schaeffer, who a lot of
scouts say is NHL ready right now. But you also
have a lot of people here on Long Island wanting
(01:05):
to bring Hagen's home with the first pick. It's become
a movement here on the island. I've seen pictures that
people have taken on social media of bring Hagen's Home
bumper stickers being handed out, which is just pretty funny.
You know, you're commuting to work along whatever parkway it is,
whether it's a Southern State, Meadowbrook, Northern State, wherever the heck,
and then you just passed by a jeep with a
(01:27):
bring Hagen's home sticker kids, Long Island born. A lot
of fans would love to see that happen. I personally
would love to see that happen, although maybe not with
the first pick, especially with Matthew Schaeffer on the board.
But yes, Matthew darsh gonna have a very intriguing decision
on his hands and he has a month to make
that happen. Gonna be his first significant act as isles GM,
(01:51):
first significant act as an nhl GM, because yes, this
is his first nhl GM gig. Before that, he was
in Tampa Bays front office since twenty nineteen, where he
was a big part in the Lightning winning two Stanley
Cupps was a candidate for quite a few openings the
past few years, and now just like that, he has
landed his first NHLGM gig, which a lot of fans
(02:13):
are really really happy about because he was the consensus
best candidate out there. I know there were a lot
of other rumored candidates, among them Mark Bergjavon, who still
could be rumored to become president of Hockey Ops. Stick
a pin in that for right now. I'll get back
to that in a moment. Also Ken Holland, who had
retired from the Oilers after the twenty twenty four Stanley
(02:35):
Cup Finals, but unretired to take a position with the
La Kings. Speaking of the Kings franchise legend Rob Blake
being let go by their front office, he was viewed
as a potential candidate too, and the Maple Leafs recently
letting go of Brendan Shanahan, their president of Hockey Ops,
so he's been in play for a potential role on
the Island. A lot of rumors at least before the
(02:56):
Darsh hiring earlier today, potentially pointing to it's him becoming
the Islanders president of Hockey Operations, But now there's a
lot of questions with that. With the team hiring a GM,
will there even be a new president of hockey operations.
No one really knows at this point, but all signs
saying it is very unlikely that would be the case,
(03:18):
especially since Darsh is now going to be the vice
president of Hockey Operations now if they wanted to keep
this in house technically, lou Lamorello is still under contract
until June the thirtieth, and whether this is true or not,
there is some speculation that the front office, who already
told him that his contract as GM and President of
(03:39):
Hockey Operations dual role wasn't going to be renewed for
twenty five twenty six. And also with the rumors that
the Sabers might be interested in hiring Lou Lamarello in
some role, whether it's as President of Hockey Operations or
as a senior advisor to their front office, there is interest.
A fan actually recently spotted Lambarello walking around in the
(03:59):
Buffalo International Airports, so there atas seems to be a
little bit of validity to that rumor. But now Shanahan's
going to be out of play, especially since he won't
be able to make his own general manager higher. Could
they keep Luan but just have him as the president
of Hockey Operations only? I guess we'll soon find out
there now. I know a lot of fans were rejoicing
(04:19):
in the fact that Lou was moving on very unpopular opinion,
but I actually would be okay with Lou staying only
as President of Hockey Operations, and especially if that means
he's not going to be the one calling the shots.
I would be okay keeping Luan in that regard, being
some sort of an advisor to a first timer in Darsh,
(04:40):
so I could very well see that happening, especially if
Berjavon doesn't want to take on a President of Hockey
Operations role. He was allegedly the finalist in the Isles
GM job per sources, and I'd still be open to
him as President of Hockey Operations, although my first choice
would preferably be Brendan Shanahan in that regard, although it
seems pretty unlikely now that they have brought in a GM.
(05:03):
I mean, they did receive permission from Toronto to speak
to Shanahan, and this was after they decided his contract
wouldn't be renewed. But that said, Darsh is the only
higher expected at that time, so Isles fans don't expect
much more shuffling in the front office, at least for
right now, because all the focus has officially turned to Schaefer,
(05:24):
Misa or Higins. The one question that all Isles fans
are going to be asking NonStop from now until they're
on the clock in the twenty twenty five NHL draft,
And there's also a pretty crucial offseason as well, with
the Isles being top ten in salary cap space going
into the NHL free agency period, and that was also
(05:45):
another big selling point for the GM gig. Here was
the potential to bring in a big fish in the
off season with all that cap space, like a Mitch
Marner or somebody else. And following the draft, those are
going to be questions that darsh will have to figure
out a specially with the amount of RFAs the Isles
will have in the offseason, among them, No adoptson Alex
(06:06):
Tremanov Simon Holmstrom. Their contracts are all set to expire.
Plus Kyle Paul Mary's going to be a UFA even
with his agent and Lou Lamarello working on an extension
before he got the boot last month, the isles biggest
pending RFA. NOA adoptson his status being up in the air,
and the fan base really divided on whether or not
(06:26):
to keep him or potentially let him walk in maybe
get a haul worth of draft picks for him. Now,
if you were to ask any Ales fan after last season,
if Dobson was worthy of whatever he wanted to be paid,
any Ailes fan, myself included, would have said, yes, absolutely,
he is our best offensive defenseman since Pop Finn just
came off a seventy point season. Lock him the heck up.
(06:48):
But if you were to ask any Isles fan now,
I'm willing to bet a lot of them would say no,
you know, we've seen exactly what we've needed to see
from him. I don't really see much more growth than
the kid. I'd be fine with having him move on,
letting some other team overpay for him, and getting a
bunch of draft picks back, depending on the offer now, personally,
depending on how much money he would hypothetically be signed for.
(07:10):
I really wouldn't be all that mad with Dobson walking,
because it really depends on the draft pick haul in
the end. Another big talking point about the Islanders future
has been that they've had the worst farm system in
the league by far, concerns that have been sort of
alleviated with the acquisition of cal Ritchie and the Brock
Nelson trade deadline deal with the Avs, which looks like
(07:32):
it is just backfiring on them, Brock unlikely to return
to the Aves and being seen as nothing more than
a rental, especially in light of Colorado's first round loss
to a Stanley Cup hopeful in the Dallas Stars. Depending
on where Brock goes, even if he goes back to
the Island, that has the potential to be one of
the worst trades in the history of the Aves. As
(07:53):
much as I hate to say it, that could very
well be a possibility. So yes, a lot of questions
for Darti to answer as he gets to work for
his first off season on Long Island, and as he
gets ready to learn the terms B E, C, SPK
and transfer at Jamaica. Hopium is once again flowing through
the air in Isles Nation.
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