Islanders GM Mathieu Darche Smartly Navigates His First Trade Deadline
The New York Islanders make a splash, trading Jonathan Drouin, picks and a prospect to the St. Louis Blues for Brayden Schenn, while also extending Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
What a roller coaster ride the New York Islanders’ 2026 NHL Trade Deadline was.
But, at the end of the day, first-year general manager Mathieu Darche got some things done.
Acquired C Brayden Schenn, who is in year five of a seven-year deal worth $6.5 M AAV.
Was able to get LW Jonathan Drouin off the books, who was in the first year of a two-year, $4 M AAV deal.
Didn’t part ways with any top prospects, nor did he part ways with the Islanders’ 2026 first — he sent the Colorado Avalanche’s 2026 first.
Signed Jean-Gabriel Pageau to a three-year extension worth $4.85 M AAV, which was a discount from his previous $5 M cap hit.
We spoke with Darche following the deadline:
On Brayden Schenn
“We always said we want to be hard to play against. We wanted some snarl, and Brayden fits that. You should see the texts we got from former players and players who have been with him about the type of player he is. He’s a playoff guy. He plays hard. If something happens, he’s not afraid to defend a teammate.
He’s scored 20 goals multiple times in his career, so we feel he’s going to help us out down the middle. It gives us a lot of flexibility with Barzal being able to play wing or center, so we have a lot more options.
He’s a competitor. That’s what you want at this time of year. When you play hockey after the deadline, and in the playoffs, it’s fighting for every inch on the ice, being able to take a hit and dish out hits. We want to be physical, and Brayden does that. I think he fits exactly what we need right now.”
On Jonathan Drouin
“I thought Joe had a great first couple of months of the season. He was actually playing really well. Even when he wasn’t scoring, he was doing a lot of good things.
Things were a bit tougher lately, confidence-wise. He kept working, but when the production isn’t there for a while, it affects your confidence.
Drouin is still a good player. He just went through a tough stretch. If you look at the first month or two of the season, he was producing at a higher pace than even we expected.
To make that deal work to bring in Brayden Schenn with the salary cap this year and next year, we felt like we needed to take some money out to keep flexibility. Once we did the Brayden deal, we were still kicking tires on a bunch of trades and options that didn’t go through, and then in the offseason, it gives us more flexibility.
That’s why we ended up sending Joe the other way. I have nothing bad to say about Joe. He came in with the right attitude, and he just lost his confidence along the way. I’m confident he’ll find it again.”
On the Jean-Gabriel Pageau Extension
“I got into discussions with him last week. You saw the attention on centers in the market this year, and I wanted to see if I’d be able to get a deal done before risking losing him for nothing. He and his agent did a great job. It was a fairly easy negotiation, and I think it’s a deal that fits for us going forward.
You’ve seen Pageau the last few weeks — how well he’s played. He’s played well all year. He got hurt and then came back and played really well. In the playoffs, every year, he’s good.
He’s only 32, turning 33. He still has years left in his career, so I didn’t want to take a step back. Why take a player out to bring in a similar player? If not, I would’ve just kept the player and done nothing.
Now I think we have improved the team. Pageau is hard to play against. Brayden Schenn is hard to play against. When you bring more of those guys in, it makes you a tougher team.”
On Why There’s No Anders Lee Extension Right Now
“Anders has been outstanding. I’ve spoken with Anders, and I have the utmost respect for him as our captain.
I just went to him and said, with all the UFAs we’d see where we are at the end of the year, and now we’re in a playoff spot.
You saw the market for centers the other day. Centers are in high demand, especially a right-shot centerman who wins 60 percent of his faceoffs and has playoff experience.
When I saw where the market was going, I wanted to make sure I could get a deal done instead of gambling. I wanted something that works for both of us — something fair for me and fair for him. You want the player to feel good about what he signs.
Anders was great about it. He’s a pro. It was important for me to have that discussion with him a few weeks ago about where we were going. When we got the deal pretty much done with Pageau, I made sure I sat down with him to explain why, and he understood.
He was a true pro about it. He understands it’s about this year and going forward, and for me it was about managing assets.”
On Alexander Romanov
“Romy is doing really well. You see him before practice. There’s a chance he could be ready for the playoffs — if not, very early in the playoffs.
He’s trending really well right now. It was a long shot before, but he’s rehabbing really well. It’s still borderline for the playoffs, but there is a chance.”
On Semyon Varlamov
“Varly is still on the ice every day. I wish I could give you a different update.
It’s one thing to take shots and move on the ice, and it’s another thing to play games. He’s not at the point yet of taking practice, so we don’t expect him back this season.”