Eyes on Isles

1 week ago | eyesonisles.com | Emma Lingan

Now that the Stanley Cup has been awarded and the 2024-25 season has come to an end, the New York Islanders are officially on the clock. Somewhat surprisingly, the Islanders won the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery and earned the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft, which kicks off Friday in Los Angeles. First-year general manager Mathieu Darche therefore faces a critical, potentially franchise-altering decision in just his first month on the job.

1 week ago | eyesonisles.com | Emma Lingan

The Islanders won the NHL Draft Lottery during their search for a new general manager, giving Mathieu Darche an automatic top prospect with face-of-the-franchise potential in his first summer on the job. While it's technically possible that Darche could entertain trade offers for the top pick, that feels a bit too bold for a brand new GM – especially one who has made it clear that he does not intend to put his team through a full teardown and rebuild from the ground up.

2 weeks ago | eyesonisles.com | Emma Lingan

The NHL and the NHL Players' Association agreed on a plan earlier this year that will boost the league's salary cap – which is currently set at $88 million – by $25.5 million, all the way to $113.5 million for the 2027-28 season. The boost includes incremental increases in the cap, first to $95.5 million in 2025-26 and then to $104 million in 2026-27.

2 weeks ago | eyesonisles.com | Emma Lingan

The New York Islanders are entering a pivotal offseason under new general manager Mathieu Darche as they look to rediscover the identity and direction of their franchise. Moving on from former GM Lou Lamoriello in May was the first major decision the Islanders made this offseason, and it will likely represent the first domino to fall in a series of decisions that could potentially shape the future of the franchise.

3 weeks ago | eyesonisles.com | Emma Lingan

The New York Islanders are entering a pivotal offseason as the Mathieu Darche era officially gets underway on Long Island. With Kyle Palmieri and Adam Boqvist already re-signed to new deals, the Islanders head into the offseason with nearly $21 million in cap space and a handful of restricted free agents (most notably, Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov) looking for new contracts as well. Still, the Islanders need to add scoring, and they need to upgrade their blue line.