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Vancouver Sun
27-05-2025
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Cowan: Mathieu Darche's start with Montreal business paves way to Islanders GM post
When the Canadiens were looking for a new general manager three years ago, Mathieu Darche would have been my choice. Instead, Jeff Gorton — the executive vice-president of hockey operations — decided to hire former player agent Kent Hughes, who has done a very impressive job getting the Canadiens into the playoffs this season in Year 3 of a full rebuilding process. I figured the time would eventually come for Darche to land a GM job in the NHL and that time came Friday, when the New York Islanders hired the 48-year-old Montreal native as their new GM and executive vice-president, replacing Lou Lamoriello. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Darche has certainly paid his dues — and nothing has come easy for him. The Islanders made a smart decision. Darche, a forward, played four seasons at McGill University, where he earned a commerce degree, majoring in marketing and international business. He wasn't selected at the NHL draft, but his desire and work ethic resulted in him playing 250 games in the NHL, including 149 with the Canadiens, before retiring after the 2011-12 season. He also played 552 AHL games and won the Calder Cup in 2004 with the Milwaukee Admirals. After retiring, Darche was part of the NHLPA's negotiating team during the 2012-13 NHL lockout. He was hoping to land a job in hockey management, but realized those jobs were limited. Meeting Mike Wagen — the senior vice-president and owner of Delmar International Inc., a global freight-forwarding and customs brokerage giant — at the 2013 Cummings Centre Sports Celebrity Breakfast led to the next step on Darche's road to the Islanders. 'He came to this event,' Wagen said when asked about Darche at Sunday's Cummings Centre Sports Celebrity Dinner, of which he was co-chair, along with Bram Naimer. 'He was looking for a job. I was very hesitant because he didn't want a PR job. He really, really wanted to get in the business world after participating in the CBA and everything else.' Donald Fehr, who was the NHLPA's executive director at the time, was honoured as the Sports Personality of the Year at the 2013 Cummings Centre event. 'I said: 'Donald, why don't you hire Mathieu?' ' Wagen recalled asking Fehr. 'He said: 'Mike, I don't have room for him, but if you're smart you should hire him.' ' Wagen was reluctant at first, but ended up hiring Darche as vice-president of sales and marketing in Canada. 'I had four or five interviews with him and I was skeptical because I knew I'd have to mentor him and I'm very picky about who I did that with,' Wagen said. 'But a couple of things he said to me at the end convinced me to hire him. He had moved his family around to nine different cities, three countries, and he just wanted stability. He's really down-to-earth. So I took a chance.' Darche kept his job at Delmar for six years before Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois — another McGill graduate — hired him as director of hockey operations and later promoted him to assistant GM. When Darche signed his first one-way NHL contract with Montreal at age 33, it was BriseBois who negotiated it in his role then as the Canadiens' vice-president of hockey operations. BriseBois and Darche built Lightning teams that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. 'I learned a lot when I was at Delmar that helps me in this job,' Darche said during a one-on-one interview I had with him in 2020, when the Canadiens were in Tampa. 'Management skills … I was in management for six years, even if it was outside of hockey, you learn with it. I got to combine the business side of it, which I always enjoyed. That's why I studied marketing and business at McGill.' Wagen said when Darche was at Delmar, he turned down a more lucrative TV offer from Sportsnet, saying he wouldn't leave unless he was offered a job in hockey management. 'When Julien came, that was in his blood,' Wagen said. 'When he walked into my office, he was in tears — he didn't sleep the night before — because he was really part of our family at that point. I told him that the only thing that will disappoint me is if you're not general manager of the Canadiens in five years.' That almost happened, with Darche being one of the finalists for the Canadiens job before it went to Hughes. Wagen is confident Darche will succeed with the Islanders, just like he did at Delmar. 'Mathieu has the business acumen, he knows hockey and one-on-one he's a magnet,' Wagen said. 'The only one I ever saw better than him was Guy Lafleur. If he doesn't make it (with the Islanders) I'd eat my hat. He could sit in any boardroom. He just had an edge over everybody because people liked him and people like to do business with people they like — all things being equal. 'What's really, really impressive is they didn't just give him the GM job,' Wagen added. 'They made him vice-president and there is no president. They gave him the ball. So he must have impressed them.' With good reason.
Montreal Gazette
27-05-2025
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
Cowan: Mathieu Darche's start with Montreal business paves way to Islanders GM post
Montreal Canadiens By When the Canadiens were looking for a new general manager three years ago, Mathieu Darche would have been my choice. Instead, Jeff Gorton — the executive vice-president of hockey operations — decided to hire former player agent Kent Hughes, who has done a very impressive job getting the Canadiens into the playoffs this season in Year 3 of a full rebuilding process. I figured the time would eventually come for Darche to land a GM job in the NHL and that time came Friday, when the New York Islanders hired the 48-year-old Montreal native as their new GM and executive vice-president, replacing Lou Lamoriello. Darche has certainly paid his dues — and nothing has come easy for him. The Islanders made a smart decision. Darche, a forward, played four seasons at McGill University, where he earned a commerce degree, majoring in marketing and international business. He wasn't selected at the NHL draft, but his desire and work ethic resulted in him playing 250 games in the NHL, including 149 with the Canadiens, before retiring after the 2011-12 season. He also played 552 AHL games and won the Calder Cup in 2004 with the Milwaukee Admirals. After retiring, Darche was part of the NHLPA's negotiating team during the 2012-13 NHL lockout. He was hoping to land a job in hockey management, but realized those jobs were limited. Meeting Mike Wagen — the senior vice-president and owner of Delmar International Inc., a global freight-forwarding and customs brokerage giant — at the 2013 Cummings Centre Sports Celebrity Breakfast led to the next step on Darche's road to the Islanders. 'He came to this event,' Wagen said when asked about Darche at Sunday's Cummings Centre Sports Celebrity Dinner, of which he was co-chair, along with Bram Naimer. 'He was looking for a job. I was very hesitant because he didn't want a PR job. He really, really wanted to get in the business world after participating in the CBA and everything else.' Donald Fehr, who was the NHLPA's executive director at the time, was honoured as the Sports Personality of the Year at the 2013 Cummings Centre event. 'I said: 'Donald, why don't you hire Mathieu?' ' Wagen recalled asking Fehr. 'He said: 'Mike, I don't have room for him, but if you're smart you should hire him.' ' Wagen was reluctant at first, but ended up hiring Darche as vice-president of sales and marketing in Canada. 'I had four or five interviews with him and I was skeptical because I knew I'd have to mentor him and I'm very picky about who I did that with,' Wagen said. 'But a couple of things he said to me at the end convinced me to hire him. He had moved his family around to nine different cities, three countries, and he just wanted stability. He's really down-to-earth. So I took a chance.' Darche kept his job at Delmar for six years before Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois — another McGill graduate — hired him as director of hockey operations and later promoted him to assistant GM. When Darche signed his first one-way NHL contract with Montreal at age 33, it was BriseBois who negotiated it in his role then as the Canadiens' vice-president of hockey operations. BriseBois and Darche built Lightning teams that won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. 'I learned a lot when I was at Delmar that helps me in this job,' Darche said during a one-on-one interview I had with him in 2020, when the Canadiens were in Tampa. 'Management skills ... I was in management for six years, even if it was outside of hockey, you learn with it. I got to combine the business side of it, which I always enjoyed. That's why I studied marketing and business at McGill.' Wagen said when Darche was at Delmar, he turned down a more lucrative TV offer from Sportsnet, saying he wouldn't leave unless he was offered a job in hockey management. 'When Julien came, that was in his blood,' Wagen said. 'When he walked into my office, he was in tears — he didn't sleep the night before — because he was really part of our family at that point. I told him that the only thing that will disappoint me is if you're not general manager of the Canadiens in five years.' That almost happened, with Darche being one of the finalists for the Canadiens job before it went to Hughes. Wagen is confident Darche will succeed with the Islanders, just like he did at Delmar. 'Mathieu has the business acumen, he knows hockey and one-on-one he's a magnet,' Wagen said. 'The only one I ever saw better than him was Guy Lafleur. If he doesn't make it (with the Islanders) I'd eat my hat. He could sit in any boardroom. He just had an edge over everybody because people liked him and people like to do business with people they like — all things being equal. 'What's really, really impressive is they didn't just give him the GM job,' Wagen added. 'They made him vice-president and there is no president. They gave him the ball. So he must have impressed them.' With good reason.
Ottawa Citizen
27-05-2025
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
Cowan: Mathieu Darche's start with Montreal business paves way to Islanders GM post
Article content When the Canadiens were looking for a new general manager three years ago, Mathieu Darche would have been my choice. Article content Article content Instead, Jeff Gorton — the executive vice-president of hockey operations — decided to hire former player agent Kent Hughes, who has done a very impressive job getting the Canadiens into the playoffs this season in Year 3 of a full rebuilding process. Article content Article content I figured the time would eventually come for Darche to land a GM job in the NHL and that time came Friday, when the New York Islanders hired the 48-year-old Montreal native as their new GM and executive vice-president, replacing Lou Lamoriello. Article content Article content The Islanders made a smart decision. Article content Darche, a forward, played four seasons at McGill University, where he earned a commerce degree, majoring in marketing and international business. He wasn't selected at the NHL draft, but his desire and work ethic resulted in him playing 250 games in the NHL, including 149 with the Canadiens, before retiring after the 2011-12 season. He also played 552 AHL games and won the Calder Cup in 2004 with the Milwaukee Admirals. Article content After retiring, Darche was part of the NHLPA's negotiating team during the 2012-13 NHL lockout. He was hoping to land a job in hockey management, but realized those jobs were limited. Meeting Mike Wagen — the senior vice-president and owner of Delmar International Inc., a global freight-forwarding and customs brokerage giant — at the 2013 Cummings Centre Sports Celebrity Breakfast led to the next step on Darche's road to the Islanders. Article content Article content 'He came to this event,' Wagen said when asked about Darche at Sunday's Cummings Centre Sports Celebrity Dinner, of which he was co-chair, along with Bram Naimer. 'He was looking for a job. I was very hesitant because he didn't want a PR job. He really, really wanted to get in the business world after participating in the CBA and everything else.' Article content Donald Fehr, who was the NHLPA's executive director at the time, was honoured as the Sports Personality of the Year at the 2013 Cummings Centre event. Article content 'I said: 'Donald, why don't you hire Mathieu?' ' Wagen recalled asking Fehr. 'He said: 'Mike, I don't have room for him, but if you're smart you should hire him.' ' Article content Wagen was reluctant at first, but ended up hiring Darche as vice-president of sales and marketing in Canada. Article content 'I had four or five interviews with him and I was skeptical because I knew I'd have to mentor him and I'm very picky about who I did that with,' Wagen said. 'But a couple of things he said to me at the end convinced me to hire him. He had moved his family around to nine different cities, three countries, and he just wanted stability. He's really down-to-earth. So I took a chance.'
Vancouver Sun
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Carey Price offers advice to young Canadiens dealing with spotlight
Carey Price experienced all the highs and lows that can come with playing for the Canadiens during his 15 seasons as a goalie in Montreal's hockey-mad market. On Sunday, when Price was honoured as the Sports Personality of the Year at the Cummings Centre Sports Celebrity Dinner, he was asked what's the best advice he has for young players now with the Canadiens when it comes to dealing with the pressure and very bright spotlight in Montreal. 'I would say to young players, I have a lot of experience going through the highs and lows of playing in an intense hockey market,' Price said. 'I think my biggest advice would be to enjoy those highs and lows because you're going to learn from both of them. You're going to grow from the times that are tough — because I certainly did — and then you have to learn to humble yourself in the times of success. My advice would be to enjoy both those moments and learn from them both.' Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The high point of Price's career with the Canadiens came in 2014-15, when he won the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Vézina Trophy as the top goalie after posting a 44-16-6 record, along with nine shutouts, a 1.96 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. He also carried the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup final in 2021 while playing on an badly injured knee that ended his career after playing only five games in the 2021-22 season. There's a very good chance Price will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame later this year in his first year of eligibility. One of the low points in Price's career came in 2010 when he lost his starting job to Jaroslav Halak, who led the Canadiens to the Eastern Conference final before losing to the Philadelphia Flyers. Halak posted a 9-9-0 record during that playoff run, along with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. 'Honestly, I learned quite a bit about being a professional and a lot about myself,' Price said about that time during a one-on-one Q&A session Sunday with former Gazette and Sports Illustrated columnist Michael Farber. 'I hadn't really taken a back seat to another guy before in my entire life to that point. 'Watching somebody out there doing what I wanted to be doing and being successful doing it,' Price added. 'There was two ways I could have went about it. I could have either sat on the sideline and pouted or I could have put my work boots on and just try to be ready for when I went in there. I think that spring taught me that I had the fortitude to keep pressing forward when things weren't going my way. I think if you were to talk to any of the teammates that I had been playing with at that particular time they would have told you that's what I did. I just wanted to do what I could to be prepared for when the time came to go in.' Another low point for Price came after the Canadiens were eliminated in the first round of the 2013 playoffs by the Ottawa Senators, with him posting a 3.26 goals-against average and a .894 save percentage. 'When you're winning here, there's no better place to play,' Price said at the time. 'But when you're not playing well here, it's definitely tough. That's one thing I miss, just being anonymous. … It's impossible. I don't even go to the grocery store any more. I hardly do anything any more. I'm like a hobbit in a hole.' At the start of the 2020-21 season, Price entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program to deal with alcohol problems. Price now seems to be adjusting very well to his post-hockey life at his home in Kelowna, B.C., with his wife, Angela, and their three young children — Liv, Millie and Lincoln. 'Going through transitions in life it has been a big transition — there's no doubt about it,' Price said. 'You go through your whole life being a hockey player — that's just what you are, it's what you do. And then one day it's not there so you have to reinvent yourself, fill your time. But I've been blessed to have a wonderful wife and three beautiful kids at home that I've been able to focus my time on. 'I get asked a lot if you want to get back into hockey, do you want to coach? And yeah, that sounds intriguing,' Price added. 'But at this time in my life, this stage, it's important to me to be at home with my kids and be a part of this young life of theirs. Everybody's going to make transitions in their life and this part of my life right now is all about my kids.'
Ottawa Citizen
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Carey Price offers advice to young Canadiens dealing with spotlight
Carey Price experienced all the highs and lows that can come with playing for the Canadiens during his 15 seasons as a goalie in Montreal's hockey-mad market. Article content Article content On Sunday, when Price was honoured as the Sports Personality of the Year at the Cummings Centre Sports Celebrity Dinner, he was asked what's the best advice he has for young players now with the Canadiens when it comes to dealing with the pressure and very bright spotlight in Montreal. Article content Article content 'I would say to young players, I have a lot of experience going through the highs and lows of playing in an intense hockey market,' Price said. 'I think my biggest advice would be to enjoy those highs and lows because you're going to learn from both of them. You're going to grow from the times that are tough — because I certainly did — and then you have to learn to humble yourself in the times of success. My advice would be to enjoy both those moments and learn from them both.' Article content Article content The high point of Price's career with the Canadiens came in 2014-15, when he won the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Vézina Trophy as the top goalie after posting a 44-16-6 record, along with nine shutouts, a 1.96 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. He also carried the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup final in 2021 while playing on an badly injured knee that ended his career after playing only five games in the 2021-22 season. Article content Article content Article content There's a very good chance Price will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame later this year in his first year of eligibility. Article content One of the low points in Price's career came in 2010 when he lost his starting job to Jaroslav Halak, who led the Canadiens to the Eastern Conference final before losing to the Philadelphia Flyers. Halak posted a 9-9-0 record during that playoff run, along with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. Article content 'Honestly, I learned quite a bit about being a professional and a lot about myself,' Price said about that time during a one-on-one Q&A session Sunday with former Gazette and Sports Illustrated columnist Michael Farber. 'I hadn't really taken a back seat to another guy before in my entire life to that point. Article content 'Watching somebody out there doing what I wanted to be doing and being successful doing it,' Price added. 'There was two ways I could have went about it. I could have either sat on the sideline and pouted or I could have put my work boots on and just try to be ready for when I went in there. I think that spring taught me that I had the fortitude to keep pressing forward when things weren't going my way. I think if you were to talk to any of the teammates that I had been playing with at that particular time they would have told you that's what I did. I just wanted to do what I could to be prepared for when the time came to go in.'
