TAMPA — It had been several years since Mathieu Darche first emerged as a candidate to become an NHL general manager. As the Lightning’s assistant GM, he had been Julien BriseBois’ right-hand man in leading the team’s hockey operations department.

The New York Islanders have the man to make the first pick in the draft. Sources told ESPN's Emily Kaplan that the team is hiring Lightning assistant general manager Mathieu Darche as its new GM. Darche played parts of nine seasons in the league with five different teams.

Darche joins the Islanders after spending the past six seasons with the Lightning, who never missed the playoffs during his tenure. He got his name engraved in the Cup in 2020 and