After moving on from Lou Lamoriello at the end of April, it seems the Islanders have come to their finalists for their General Manager position. But, something else we have to remember, 2 of these 3 names may end up being hired, as the Islanders may go with a two-pronged system hiring both a President of Hockey Operations and a General Manager. Former Oilers GM Ken Holland appears to be out of the running, as he is reportedly going to be the next GM of the Los Angeles Kings. Montreal Canadiens Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton was also a contender, but Montreal denied the Islanders request to speak with him. Which took him out of the running. Now, we are left with 3 reported candidates, and John Collins alongside ownership are leading the search.
Marc Bergevin
Bergevin served as a special advisor to former Kings GM Rob Blake, but was considered a top contender for the Islanders job as soon as it opened up. Bergevin was the GM in Montreal from 2012-2021, like every GM, he has made his fair share of good and bad moves as general manager in Montreal. One of his best moves was acquiring Nick Suzuki and Tomas Tatar in exchange for Max Pacioretty who had one year left on his deal. However, he selected Jasperi Kotkaniemi 3rd overall in 2018, though we have the benefit of hindsight, players like Brady Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes were selected shortly after. Bergevin would be a good hire for the Islanders, advising Rob Blake likely helped him a lot, as the Kings have been a consistent playoff team over the last few years. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bergevin came on as a President of Hockey Ops to a younger General Manager.
Jarmo Kekäläinen
Kekalainen was the General Manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets for over a decade, but was fired in February of 2024. If there’s anything Kekalainen was known for in Columbus, it was solid drafting and taking big swings on the free agent and trade market. But his draft record speaks for itself, he selected Zach Werenski in 2015, selected Pierre-Luc Dubois over the consensus third prospect in Jesse Puljujarvi, and also had some late round draft steals in Vladislav Gavrikov and Oliver Bjorkstrand. On the open market, Jarmo did everything he can to always be all in when his team was in a contention window. In 2017, he acquired Artemi Panarin from Chicago for Brandon Saad, Anton Forsberg and a late round pick. 2 Years later, he acquired Matt Duchene at the trade deadline in the midst of a playoff push. In free agency he’s not allergic to spending either, he pulled off a great signing when he signed Johnny Gaudreau back in 2022. Kekalainen would be a solid hire for the Islanders, he’d likely be given both POHO and GM if hired.
Mathieu Darche
Darche is currently the assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and this would be a very forward thinking hire by the Islanders. Darche has been running the Lightning’s salary cap for the last few years and has also reportedly been the one to handle contract extensions, if that’s true, it would make the case very compelling, especially considering he knew when to move on from an aging Steven Stamkos and signed Jake Guentzel. Darche would be a first time GM, but one that has the analytical approach that you want in a modern GM. Darche would likely serve as the GM and have a separate President of Hockey Ops above him.
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