In Palat, who is signed through next season, the Islanders acquired a hard-working, two-way winger with two Stanley Cups and 103 points in 155 playoff games. He and Darche go back to their days in Tampa, but the deal wasn’t based on nostalgia, but rather Palat’s heart and skillset and ability to play and up down the lineup. In Soucy, they acquired a physically-imposing defenseman who can hit, block shots and play on the penalty kill. Both players bolster the Islanders depth and should help reinforce a team that lost Kyle Palmieri and Alexander Romanov in November.
“Palat’s obviously a good, goal scorer, physical and thick like Palms,” Mathew Barzal said. “Soucy [is] obviously like [a] hard-to-play-against D-man, kind of like Romi. So I think both guys really add some nice depth to our team.”
Darche’s moves come well ahead of the March 6 trade deadline and the reasoning is two-fold. The first being the Islanders division-heavy schedule, as six of the Islanders last seven games heading into the Olympic break are against Metro opponents.
“Why wait till the deadline when we have important games against our division?” Darche said.
The other reason is the Olympic break itself – Feb. 6-24 – which Darche hopes will allow Palat and Soucy to settle in and acclimate to the Islanders. There will be some additional practice time before the Islanders resume play on Feb. 26, a luxury not usually afforded to mid-season acquisitions.
“Get the family settled. Get them practice time with our guys and hanging out with our guys,” Darche said. “Obviously, Pally will be at the Olympics, but again, I think that was the timing.”