LAS VEGAS – Mathieu Darche rejoined this Islanders’ road trip after a side trek to Toronto for the general managers’ meeting earlier this week. By all accounts, it was a low-key gathering.
But, perhaps in the quiet moments, Darche had a chance to talk to his fellow GMs and lay some groundwork for future trades.
Because Darche will need to make a move or two before the March 6 trade deadline.
The Islanders, 8-6-2 entering Thursday night’s match against Vegas at T-Mobile Arena, are in the middle of a compact and seemingly wide-open Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. Add another scoring wing and a solid defenseman and they could be one of the conference’s better teams.
“I think since Day 1, the GM showed a lot belief in this group,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau told Newsday after Wednesday’s practice. “I believe in every player here. You always hope it’s going to stay like that. Sometimes it’s a bit out of your control. We want to be a successful team. We want to win. We want to win a (Stanley) Cup. If you’re in the mix, you’re looking sometimes for depth in case of injuries. But I fully trust in this group, there’s a lot of depth.”
The Islanders believe they can win. But they must do something to elevate them from the crowd so Darche, in his first season running the Islanders, must be efficient.
The opportunity is there.
“Yeah, I think everybody is saying this,” said coach Patrick Roy, noting the tight standings. “Everybody believes that it’s open and it’s matter of getting hot and winning some games. That’s why this is an important road trip for us in some ways.”
Vegas is one of the Western Conference’s better Stanley Cup contenders. Utah, which hosts the Islanders on Friday night, is a playoff contender. Colorado and Dallas, the following two stops, are also strong Cup contenders.
“These are awesome games to play, come and get tested,” captain Anders Lee told Newsday. “These are fun challenges to have at this point of the year to see how we’re doing.”
More depth may be coming, too, as rookie forward Max Shabanov (upper body), wearing a red, non-contact jersey, rejoined practice and skated with his teammates for the first time since Oct. 21.
But Shabanov, with one goal and two assists in six games, has not yet proven he can be a consistent NHL producer after being one the past three seasons back home in the KHL.
The best case for the Islanders is if Shabanov plays among the top six. Currently, Simon Holmstrom is playing that role while skating on Mathew Barzal’s line with Jonathan Drouin. But Holmstrom is better suited for Pageau’s third line with Lee.
A trade may bring more certainty than Shabanov.
Defensively, the Islanders could certainly use more depth with the bottom pair of Alexander Romanov and Tony DeAngelo going through its struggles. Romanov won’t be out of the lineup unless he gets hurt again – always a possibility given his physical style – but DeAngelo’s effectiveness is often limited to his power-play time.
But there was also another possibility for Darche’s time at the GM meeting. Perhaps, other GMs sought him out to inquire about Lee and Pageau’s availability.
Both are pending unrestricted free agents in their final seasons of their contracts. Pageau’s hometown Senators traded him to the Islanders in 2020 the last time he was in a contract year.
Both would be nice trade rental acquisitions for a playoff contender.
It will be a fine line for Darche with the Islanders likely to remain in the playoff chase. He had a strong first offseason as Islanders’ GM, signing Drouin and Shabanov as free agents and acquiring Emil Heineman in the Noah Dobson deal with the Canadiens. Heineman has blossomed into a top-six forward this season.
“We’re trending in the right direction here,” Lee said. “This group believes in that.”
Still, Darche needs to add to this group.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.