Mike Bartner’s latest GM Tenure Grades breakdown took direct aim at Mathieu Darche’s first major stumble as New York Islanders general manager: the 2026 trade deadline.
Darche’s early work had earned strong reviews, but Bartner said that momentum vanished once the deadline passed. In his view, the Islanders’ front office went from a promising start to a move-filled mess.
“Today on the GM Tenure Grades series we got my favorite team’s GM, Mathieu Darche,” Bartner wrote. “It started off so well last offseason, but then the 2026 deadline happened.”
He didn’t soften his verdict from there, labeling it “one of the worst deadlines I’ve ever seen in my life.” Bartner’s biggest complaint was that Darche chose to add veterans instead of either standing pat or making moves that would help the organization beyond that season.
The specific deals drew the sharpest criticism. Bartner pointed to the additions of Carson Soucy and Palat, writing, “Acquired two actively bad players in Soucy as well as Palat who had another year at $6M!” He also blasted the move that sent the COL 1st for Schenn, adding, “Then traded the COL 1st to get Schenn in the year 2026.”
Bartner did acknowledge the logic behind Darche avoiding a sale of Jean-Gabriel Pageau or Anders Lee while the Islanders were still in the playoff hunt. But he argued the response was even worse than standing still.
“I get not selling off Pageau/Lee because they were in the playoff hunt, but to acquire 3 washed vets at overpayment AAV’s & 2 of which had term, insanity,” Bartner wrote.
The record after the deadline backed up his frustration. Bartner noted the Islanders were 28-19-5 before the trades and then finished 16-15-0 afterward, with the veteran additions failing to deliver the boost Darche was clearly chasing.
That doesn’t erase the optimism around Darche’s first offseason, but Bartner made it clear the 2026 deadline now stands as the first major blemish on his Islanders résumé.
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