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New York Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
New Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche faces extensive to-do list
New York Islanders majority owner Scott Malkin, operating partner John Collins and co-owner Jon Ledecky found their new executive on Friday. Mathieu Darche had the least experience of the candidates the Islanders owners considered — far less than Ken Holland, Marc Bergevin, Jarmo Kekäläinen or Jeff Gorton, who have been NHL general managers for over 10 years. Advertisement But there can be no training wheels on this hire. The Islanders had a long list of things to address even before ownership informed Lou Lamoriello on April 22 that his contract would not be renewed; if anything, the list has gotten longer in the month since that move. The search for a new GM has pushed those action items to the side for a few weeks, but now time is accordingly shorter this offseason. So here's a quick look at all the things Darche has ahead of him as he takes over a team for the first time. Malkin and Collins made it clear from the outset of their search that whoever was hired has final say over all hockey decisions. That includes the fate of Patrick Roy, who has coached just 119 games for the Islanders but has a three-year contract still ahead of him. Roy did not have any input in this search, but according to a team source, Roy did express some thoughts to ownership as the search played out. That could indicate a desire on Malkin's part to keep Roy around for at least another year despite giving Darche full control of hockey operations. The three years (at a salary believed to be north of $3 million per year) probably doesn't hurt Roy's case to stick around either. The source said Roy and Lamoriello were at odds last season over the style the coach wanted the Islanders to play and whether the 2024-25 roster was capable of playing that way, so Darche may want to see if Roy can coach his preferred, up-tempo style with any changes the new GM could provide before training camp. If Darche makes the decision to move on from Roy in the coming weeks, then he likely has a coach in mind. He could look to the Lightning staff, which has former NHLer and promising assistant coach Jeff Halpern and veteran junior and AHL coach Joël Bouchard in Syracuse. That said, a first-time NHL coach for these Islanders might indicate this team is not angling to contend right away, which may not be the message Darche wants to send. Among the veteran NHL coaches available, the pickings are slim — there's the last three Rangers coaches in David Quinn, Gerard Gallant and Peter Laviolette, but not many others with serious NHL experience. Darche and the Islanders owners may know what Lamoriello, who turns 83 in October, plans to do once his contract expires June 30. The rest of us do not, so it's hard to say at the moment whether Lamoriello will have some role as a consultant to Malkin or Darche, go elsewhere or retire. Darche's last NHL training camp as a player was with the New Jersey Devils in 2013, after the half-season lockout. According to reports, Darche and Lamoriello talked often before Darche ended up retiring rather than signing a contract, so there's a relationship between the two. Advertisement Beyond Lamoriello, Darche will have to decide what to do with current Islanders assistant GMs Chris Lamoriello and Steve Pellegrini, as well as how to proceed with scouting and development staffs that have largely remained untouched since Garth Snow was GM. As with Roy, time is short. Most NHL teams are currently deep into their pro scouting meetings, identifying players to pursue in free agency or trades, and the amateur meetings will begin soon with the NHL combine less than a week away. Unless Darche has an org chart to end all org charts ready to go — and unless he can pry prospective AGMs and directors from their current gigs at this late date — he may ride through the first part of this offseason with Lamoriello's crew and then sort things out later. Hey, a good problem to have! The Islanders won the draft lottery during the GM search, giving Darche a top prospect right off the bat. Darche will attend next week's combine in Buffalo getting right to work on grilling the top prospects and seeing who his new amateur scouting staff is zeroing in on. Erie defenseman Matthew Schaefer is the across-the-board, consensus No. 1 prospect. There's also prolific Saginaw center Michael Misa and the sentimental pick in Boston College center and Hauppauge native James Hagens, who grew up a huge Islanders fan. Perhaps Darche will entertain trade offers too, though that might be a little too bold right out of the gate for a new GM. It will be a fascinating process for Darche to take the reins and make the first pick in a month — and also a good way to evaluate his own scouts. Darche has to do all the above while also figuring out what to do with the Islanders roster, which has produced mediocre results over the last four years. In addition to the top pick, the Islanders have Calum Ritchie (acquired in the Brock Nelson trade at the deadline), plus a couple of other promising young players in Isaiah George and Cole Eiserman who may be ready to make the leap. Aside from those prospects, there isn't anyone knocking down the door for a roster spot, so Darche will have to decide whether the current group needs a major overhaul or just a few tweaks. Advertisement In the overhaul department: J-G Pageau is entering his contract year and one (or two) of Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield would need to be moved, somehow, to change out the defense corps. Darche must also decide whether to keep Semyon Varlamov as Ilya Sorokin's backup or buy out the 37-year-old goalie. Buyouts could be on the table for Pierre Engvall and Mayfield, neither of whom got much love from Roy and both of whom have virtually untradeable contracts with five years left. Kyle Palmieri's camp was closing in on a contract extension with Lamoriello when the Islanders made their move with the GM. Darche may have a different view of the 34-year-old Palmieri, which would be a tough look — not in letting Palmieri walk, but seeing him walk for nothing when the Islanders could have moved him for a second-round pick and a prospect at the deadline. RFA defenseman Adam Boqvist also had a deal with Lamoriello that wasn't signed, according to reports. And Darche will jump right into negotiations with RFA defensemen Alex Romanov and Noah Dobson, the latter of whom could command a big contract. There's also RFA Simon Holmstrom, coming off his entry-level deal, and UFA defenseman Tony DeAngelo. Darche is under zero obligations to honor whatever deals Lamoriello had or was close to having. He has to have alternate plans, though, especially if he decides to let Palmieri and his 24 goals walk — a surprisingly decent part of the Isles' offense last season. Perhaps nowhere is this franchise in bigger need of major changes than with the Bridgeport Islanders, who set an unwanted AHL record with just four home wins this past season. Coach Rick Kowalsky has long been a Chris Lamoriello guy, having coached in the Devils system prior; under Lamoriello the Islanders have traded away their first-round pick four times, leaving the Baby Isles bereft of real talent. George, who played 33 games with the Islanders last season, was by far the most promising prospect in Bridgeport. Outside of forward Alex Jefferies and a couple of other defensemen in Calle Odelius and Jesse Pulkkinen, there isn't much there at all. Simply keeping picks (and maybe acquiring a few extras in trades for veterans) will eventually help the AHL club, but the Islanders have to make Bridgeport — performance, attendance, roster, marketing, you name it — a priority under Darche. Advertisement The Islanders focused on hockey under Lamoriello to mixed results. But Lamoriello's way — no marketing of players, no viral social media moments, no distractions — coupled with a poor team in the UBS Arena era has left this franchise adrift. This is an opportunity; it doesn't have to fall on Darche's head to make sure the Islanders get some clicks and some new fans, but it does fall during Darche's tenure. Even if the Islanders don't win right away on the ice, they have to become the kind of team that embraces this chance. The new GM has plenty on his plate already, but he has to help the Islanders build their brand and get noticed for the right reasons. Holland turned down this job for several reasons, but one of them, according to a league source, was the enormity of the task. Darche isn't shying away from that, which is good. But there's a lot to do and the time to start was yesterday. (Top photo of Noah Dobson and Ilya Sorokin: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
New York Times
12-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Staple: Does anyone want to be an Islanders exec? What I'm hearing about a fraught search
The New York Islanders will fill their vacant general manager position. At this point, that's about all we can be certain of. A process that seemed to be moving along fluidly now … isn't, according to sources around the league. And the prospect of principal owner Scott Malkin keeping Lou Lamoriello beyond June 30, when Lamoriello's contract as president and general manager expires, looms over the search. Advertisement Malkin and co-owners Jon Ledecky, John Collins and Oliver Haarmann — a league source indicated that Haarmann has been involved in this process of finding a new GM, along with the other three — have not necessarily widened the search that began three weeks ago, but the list of highly desired candidates seems to have dwindled. Here's what I've learned in the past week and where this might be headed: • Ken Holland was the Islanders' top choice to sign on as president and/or GM, but league sources said he is talking to the Los Angeles Kings about their vacant GM job. The Islanders likely would have given Holland the dual title that Lamoriello holds, but Holland might prefer to stay on the West Coast, closer to family. The Kings, which lost for the fourth consecutive season to the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the playoffs (Holland's former team), are thought by many around the league to be better situated for a new GM than the Islanders, which is a front office and roster requiring bigger repairs than L.A. If Holland doesn't get the Kings job, I don't think he's closed the door entirely on the Islanders, but it seems an unlikely pairing at the moment. • The Islanders ownership group had a keen interest in talking to Montreal Canadiens vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton, but that won't be happening, as colleague Pierre LeBrun reported last week. Gorton and the Canadiens are happy with their situation. Had he been available, Gorton was likely the Islanders' top choice over Holland. • According to league sources and reports, Kings adviser and former Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin, former Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen and Tampa Bay Lightning assistant GM Mathieu Darche are in the mix and could be holding interviews with the Islanders this week. Bergevin is a candidate for the Kings job, but if he loses out to Holland, he would be near the top of the Isles' wish list. • Leafs president Brendan Shanahan still has no extension in place, but the Islanders are not interested in bringing in Shanahan at the moment. LeBrun reported that the Islanders might be waiting on a couple of potential candidates whose seasons aren't over yet, but that doesn't apply to Shanahan. • The wrinkle in all these machinations is Lamoriello. A league source said last week that Malkin, who has the final say on this hire, hopes to keep Lamoriello in some capacity. Most likely, that would be as an adviser to whoever takes the GM job. If the Islanders had gotten Holland to say yes or gotten to pitch Gorton, those two would have taken both titles that Lamoriello currently holds, so that wouldn't have left room for the 82-year-old to stay on. Advertisement However, now that the Islanders are talking to candidates who they might not see holding both jobs, a spot for Lamoriello might make sense for Malkin. That might not make as much sense for a potential GM, as one executive, who is not an Islanders candidate, with another team said last week: 'That's Lou's team. It's going to be tough to make it your own with him still there.' Other potential issues with Lamoriello remaining in the Islanders front office are whether a new GM wants to replace assistant GMs Chris Lamoriello, Lou's son, or Steve Pellegrini, as well as any of the scouting and development staff that Lamoriello has overseen for seven years, as well as what to do with coach Patrick Roy, who has three years left on his contract. Lamoriello gave Roy that three-year extension after the 2023-24 season, and Malkin and Co. might not want to pay Roy to go away just yet. That could take another decision out of a new GM's hands. Lamoriello has advised dozens of GMs in an unofficial way over the years. He's almost always the first fellow GM to reach out when a first-time executive takes over another team, offering support and advice. If he were joining a new team in an advisory role, it would be ideal. Here, though, it's fraught and could be a reason this job is still available after three weeks, including a week in which the Islanders won the draft lottery. (Photo of Ken Holland: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
Times
11-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Bicester Village at 30: what's the secret to its success?
When Scott Malkin first arrived in Bicester in 1991 it was a one-horse town. 'I came to take a look at a piece of land just off the M40. All I could see when I got there was a forlorn-looking mare wandering around fields that were filled with debris,' he recalls. But Malkin liked what he saw and bought the land for £15 million. What the boss of Value Retail did next changed shopping for ever. He created the world's first upscale discount-fashion shopping centre: Bicester Village. 'Nobody in Britain thought it would work,' he says with a laugh. Back then outlet malls were cheap and not-so-cheerful jumble sales of 'factory shops' with a naff food court. How wrong the critics were. Bicester Village,
