Islanders GM Mathieu Darche defends team's offseason strategy: 'People will always have opinions'

The perception among much of the Islanders fan base is that the team didn’t do enough to improve this offseason.

The Islanders (not unexpectedly) lost their captain Anders Lee, who signed a three-year, $16.2 million deal with Utah at the start of free agency. General manager Mathieu Darche largely made depth signings from an ultra-thin free agency class, inking forwards Matias Maccelli and Mitchell Chaffee, defenseman Matthew Kessel and goalie Vitek Vanecek to respective one-year deals.

So for a team that fell eight points short of the 2026 postseason despite introducing a new superstar in Matthew Schaefer and contending for a playoff spot all year, fan frustration is understandable.

But what does Darche think of the perception that not enough was done this summer?

“People will always have opinions,” he said Wednesday at the Cross Island YMCA in Bellerose, where the Islanders partnered with the YMCA of Greater New York and KABOOM! to build a new playground.

“But the reality — you remember at this time again last year, I mentioned that I felt for two years we'd have a very similar roster because even the new players we brought in, we didn't add contracts. We flipped out contracts, so we knew we wouldn't be able to do too much. And at the same time, with where the salaries have gone, I want to make sure that in two years when Schaefer comes off his entry-level [contract], all right, now we kind of know the ballpark, so now we can plan ahead going forward.

“And as we have expiring contracts, some of the expiring contracts, we might re-sign them at the end of the year if we feel they can still contribute to us and if we find a common agreement. Again, I felt last year outside the last three weeks of the season, we were there all year. Were we sometimes getting away with more than we should have? Yes, I won't lie. And going 10-0 in overtime, I hope we do the same thing this year. But realistically, the odds are against you to never lose a game in overtime.”

Darche continued to mention the importance of Kyle Palmieri, Alexander Romanov and Pierre Engvall being healthy after season-ending injuries. He said the team expects progression from players such as Cal Ritchie, Emil Heineman and Simon Holmstrom. And the big developments?

“Another year of Schaefer, and [coach Pete DeBoer’s] system — that's one of the big acquisitions of the summer, even if it happened at the end of the year,” Darche said. “With the structure we're going to play, I think it's going to make a big difference.

“But it's a battle, right? . . .  You have a 50% chance of making the playoffs when you think of it around the league, and it's going to be competitive. So I think we're a contender for the playoffs. That's going to be our goal, and we'll adjust accordingly depending how the season goes.”

In an appearance on “The Sheet with Jeff Marek” on Tuesday, new Islanders assistant general manager Evan Gold said the team is a “transitional team.” Darche agreed with that sentiment but clarified that “transition doesn't mean that you don't think about today also.”

“You can't win with only young guys,” Darche added. “You can't win with only older guys. So that's the transitional part that he's talking about.”

No one is expected to miss training camp, Darche said. He said Palmieri, coming off a torn left ACL, has been skating all summer and looks “great” and “fully healthy.” He said Romanov, who had right shoulder surgery last November, is 12 pounds lighter and looks “as good as I've seen him.” Engvall (hip/ankle) is expected to be a full participant.

And goalie Semyon Varlamov, who had partial replacements on both knees and hasn’t played an NHL game since Nov. 29, 2024, is skating four-to-five times a week with no pain and no medication required.

“He's going to play preseason games, and hopefully he's ready to give us a lot of games this year,” Darche said. “With 84 games, you can't — we did at the end of last year, we kind of overused Ilya [Sorokin]. And he's so well-liked around the room. His collaboration with Ilya is awesome. So right now everything looks great.”

Darche isn’t expecting to bring anyone in on a professional tryout contract, either.

He also had no update on the captain vacancy but thinks there’s a “strong chance” they’ll have one.

Several players attended Wednesday’s event, including Palmieri, Bo Horvat, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Ryan Pulock. Tens of people physically put together the playground, building equipment and installing it in the ground with mulch.

“We're only as strong as our community, and these guys know it,” said Ann Rina, the Islanders’ vice president of community relations. “They were here today to support us, and they got their hands dirty putting in some playground stuff.”

By Ben Dickson

benjamin.dickson@newsday.com@bendickson__

Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.