Mathieu Darche Gives Updates Ahead of 2026-27 Season Opener
Mathew Barzal to begin skating soon, plus the GM's insights on Logan Stanley, Cole Eiserman, Kashawn Aitcheson and more
Mathew Barzal to begin skating soon, plus the GM's insights on Logan Stanley, Cole Eiserman, Kashawn Aitcheson and more
By Cory Wright NewYorkIslanders.com September 30, 2026 Link copied New York Islanders General Manager and EVP Mathieu Darche spoke to reporters on Wednesday morning ahead of the team’s season opener in Toronto. See below for highlights from his availability.
Mathew Barzal is expected to start skating this weekend, or early next week, per Darche.
The Islanders GM said the next step will be monitoring the inflammation in his knee after he skates, but Darche is optimistic that Barzal will be able to get up to speed quickly. The Islanders center has not skated in the past two weeks and missed the team’s Training Camp.
“We felt that last week he's had really, really good progress,” Darche said. “Barzal is not a guy that needs three weeks to get ready… You give him a few practices and he’ll be good to go.”
The GM shared his thought process on signing Logan Stanley to a one-year deal on Sunday.
The decision was made in part by Matthew Schaefer moving from the left side to the right side on the blue line. That opened up a spot on the left side alongside Tony DeAngelo and the team’s preference was to have a lefty instead of asking a right-handed d-man to play his off side.
There’s also Stanley’s physicality and willingness to drop the gloves. The 6’7, 231-lbs. defenseman has 24 NHL fights (23 regular season, one postseason) on his resume.