ELMONT, NY -- After Mathieu Darche's introductory press conference at UBS Arena, New York Islanders captain Anders Lee spoke to us about the general manager change, what he likes about the newcomer, the role Lou Lamoriello played, and more.
THE LOU ERA
Lee, who made his NHL debut in the 2012-13 season, has now experienced two general manager changes. First, it was Garth Snow to Lamoriello in 2018, and now Lamoriello to Darche. The 34-year-old captain spoke incredibly highly of Lamoriello and what he meant to him and the rest of the team over these past seven seasons.
"It was a pretty special bond. Lou was phenomenal," Lee said with a bittersweet tone. "He played a lot of different roles. He was a mentor. He could tell it to you straight. He wasn't afraid to tell you maybe what you didn't want to hear as a player. So you always knew what you needed to work The values that he has as a person, the character that he often shared with you, and the wisdom. You always walked out of a meeting with Lou a little bit better for yourself, having guidance. Sometimes, it was a kick in the direction that you gotta shape it up a little bit, but always someone that had your back. I'm extremely grateful for the time, leadership, and mentorship that I had with Lou, and we'll continue to lean on a lot of those lessons that we've learned from him."
THE NEW ERA
Darche is getting his first opportunity to be a general manager in the NHL, having worked in upper management with the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2019. While change usually means something went wrong -- the Islanders missed the playoffs in 2024-25 -- it seems that everyone is looking forward to this new era on Long Island.
"It’s exciting," Lee said on Darche coming in. "I had the opportunity to meet with Mathieu pretty quickly after he was named the general manager and had a great sit down, got to know each other a little bit, and got to hear what his thoughts were moving forward. There's a lot to look forward to.
"I think he's going to bring a perspective that he has coming from Tampa, which has a great culture and an expectation of winning, and he's going to come and implement that with us. He's got an open-door policy and loves to shoot it straight. And I think as players and me personally, that's exactly what you want to hear. You want to know where you stand and know how he feels, whether it's about you individually or as a team. And that kind of communication goes a long way. We've had that before, but just with Mathieu, to get things going, it's a great place to start a foundation and get this thing going."
Darche did play in the NHL for 12 seasons after going undrafted out of McGill University. He knows the game, and having someone who has been in the players' shoes before does make a difference.
"When I met with him, right away, I knew he was not only fit for the job but just someone that has a lot of control over his vision and what he wants to do and the direction and excitement behind it," Lee said. "I think he's coming in, having learned so much in the last little bit, the experiences he's had in the business world and the other ones that he's had down in Tampa in the hockey world, so just getting to know him, right off the bat, I'm very much looking forward to learning from him and doing my part in helping this team be better, individually, being a better hockey player and a better leader and all of us, collectively as a group, coming together here and getting back on track.
"Just immediately, I could kind of just tell he's a really good guy, someone that cares about his new role, and someone who seems to be very humble and very honored to be named the general manager. And I took away from it that this guy's got a lot of energy for it, a lot of passion for it. And you know, you can obviously tell too, just speaking with him and spending a little bit of time with him, that he's very smart and intellectual and is going to look at things from every angle."
ROY RETURNING
When Lamoriello elected to move on from Lane Lambert on January 20, 2023, he chose to bring in Patrick Roy, a sparkplug and high-energy coach, to help inject life into a team that had lost its way.
It worked wonders, as the Islanders went on a late-season run to qualify for the playoffs.
But, in Roy's first full season as the club's bench boss, injuries and inconsistencies led to a shaky season, one that had them watching the postseason from their couch.
How was Darche going to evaluate Roy and ulitmately, would the Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender be back for a second full season?
The answer was yes and Lee was pretty ecstatic about that.
"It’s great. I mean, look. Darche has got to come in and make a lot of decisions," Lee said. "I can only imagine, I mean, just the small phone tag we've ever played -- I know he's on the phone a lot -- so for him to get together with Patrick, hash it out, and get to know one another, I think it's great that he was able to make a decision on that and move forward with Patty.
"Patty's got a good relationship with us and our ability to understand what he wants from us and how he wants us to play. I guess it's one more decision that's been made to help us continue moving in the right direction."
WINNING THE DRAFT LOTTERY
On Monday, May 5, the Islanders were blessed by the Hockey Gods, as they came away victorious at the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery with a 3.5% chance at selecting first overall.
"It's exciting. I never tune into the lottery, and I did that night, I don't know why," Lee said. "But it was crazy watching those balls pop up, and it's exciting. Look, there's some great talent out there. We have the ability to take the best player in the draft, and that doesn't happen often, regardless of where your standings are at the end of the year. It's a wonderful bounce, talk about bounces sometimes. And look, we'll take it as a team here. It's great, it's exciting."
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