For the first time in years, the Tampa Bay Lightning will have a number of key vacancies to fill this summer.
On Friday, it was announced that Lightning assistant general manager, Mathieu Darche was hired as the next general manager of the New York Islanders.
Darche joined the Lightning organization in 2019, shortly after then general manager Steve Yzerman left for Detroit. Darche was widely seen as a rising star in hockey circles, and his hiring by the Islanders confirms what many around the league had long suspected, it was only a matter of time before he got his shot.
Less than one week later, it was reported that longtime Lightning Executive Stacy Roest, who had served as general manager of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch and also held an assistant GM title in Tampa Bay, was no longer with the organization.
“Word got out on Tuesday afternoon that Stacy Roest, who'd been part of their brain trust for the last 12 years is no longer part of the organization,” said Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. “It's not clear as we record this, if he's going with Darche to the New York Islanders, or LA or anywhere else.”
As of Wednesday morning, Roest had been removed from the Syracuse Crunch website.
Roest was brought into the organization as Director of Player Development back in 2013 and took on the role of general manager in 2019. He led the Crunch to four playoff appearances and a points percentage above .550 in all six seasons as GM.
According to Friedman, when Darche accepted the general manager position with the New York Islanders, the phones started ringing.
“I heard that there were a lot of people who reached out when Darche left, saying, ‘Hey, what are you doing there? Is there a spot for me?’”
With a limited stockpile of draft picks heading into the next few seasons, the Lightning will need to fill the positions with those that can think like BriseBois.
“If you remember, when Tampa was at their peak, you look at some of the players like Ondrej Palat, who was a late round draft pick. Yanni Gourde was an absolute find of a player. You have to be in a situation where you can find players, even if you're not picking high.”
That’s been the Lightning’s formula for success: finding players others overlook, and developing them into difference makers.