If New York Islanders fans are expecting Mathieu Darche to make a splash when NHL free agency opens on July 1, the general manager may have already provided a warning.
Don’t expect him to make a move for the sake of making a move.
Speaking following the conclusion of the NHL Draft, Darche made it clear that while the Islanders will explore every opportunity available to improve the roster, he’s also well aware of the dangers that come with getting caught up in the frenzy of the first day of free agency.
“Historically, it’s funny, I saw one of my colleagues did an interview yesterday and he says historically on July 1, a lot of times there’s deals that end up hurting you,” Darche said. “You got to learn from that.”
For a fan base that has spent much of the offseason asking why the Islanders haven’t been more aggressive, that answer may not sound particularly exciting. But it does offer some insight into how Darche is approaching one of the most important weeks of his young tenure as general manager.
“And sometimes it might not look sexy because you’re not jumping in on something,” Darche continued, “but sometime might be the right thing to do.”
That doesn’t mean the Islanders won’t be active or at least, won’t try to be.
Darche confirmed that discussions remain ongoing with Anders Lee’s camp and that internal decisions regarding players like RFA Maxim Shabanov and Marc Gatcomb will influence what the organization ultimately does in free agency.
“Obviously, I want to have more discussions with Anders’s agent,” Darche said regarding the captain. “We’ll see where it goes.” Lee was still playing the role, calling the team’s first round pick and welcoming him to Long Island on Friday night.
More importantly, Darche emphasized that July 1 doesn’t represent the finish line of roster building.
“There doesn’t mean the rest of the summer there won’t be more movement,” he said.
We shall see whether that last part is true.
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