Islanders add more to cupboard at NHL draft Day 2 — but Mathieu Darche’s hard work is just starting

Day 2 of the draft is usually more interesting as a lead-in to July 1 than for any individual prospect drafted. That felt more the case than normal for the Islanders on Saturday. 

Consensus was that the Islanders were a winner on the first night of the draft, when general manager Mathieu Darche nabbed Victor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson in addition to Matthew Schaefer at No. 1 overall.

The picks on Saturday, particularly 6-foot-6 wing Daniil Prokhorov at 42nd overall and toolsy center Luca Romano at 74th, got good reviews from experts, but come training camp, neither will solve the gaping roster hole created by trading Noah Dobson. 

In a different organization, you’d glance at the roster, survey the prospects and assume the Gavin McKenna tank could be incoming.

You’d wonder when the Mat Barzal trade was coming — actually, some people were wondering that, though the answer is that it isn’t — and start thinking about the kind of head start Schaefer could give on the full-scale rebuild. 

Indeed, after Dobson was dealt to the Canadiens for a package including the picks that became Eklund and Aitcheson as well as bottom six wing Emil Heineman, it’s a lot easier to see a rebuild path for the Islanders than the pieces of a competitor in 2025-26. 

That will be of no solace to Darche, who has two simultaneous and contradictory mandates — one to rebuild a prospect pipeline that was completely bereft a year ago and the other to keep the Islanders relevant through 82 games next season. 

“We’re not going to a rebuild,” he said on a Zoom early Saturday morning East Coast time. 

He nailed the first assignment this weekend.

The second will need to be done in free agency, where the Dobson trade gives the Islanders sudden room to maneuver after accounting for restricted free agents Alexander Romanov, Max Tsyplakov, Simon Holmstrom and Heineman. 

The exact makeup of the roster next season is unclear, with Schaefer, Cal Ritchie and Isaiah George all set to fight for spots in training camp. It’s worth noting that Heineman — who has been overlooked as part of the return package — should be a major help to a fourth line that was at best a nonfactor last season. The 6-foot-2 Swede is a raw physical talent — he throws hits, plays with energy and will be embraced by fans. 

Still, if the Islanders don’t address the right side of their blue line in the coming days, it’s hard to see how this team could even contend for a playoff spot. 

With Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield as the only natural righties on the blue line — Adam Boqvist, a lefty, is comfortable playing his off side — that now looks like an urgent area of need. 

The Islanders can bring back Tony DeAngelo, who fit well with them last season, can run the power play, eat minutes, help fill the offensive hole left by Dobson and expressed a desire to return on breakup day.

That, however, can’t be the whole solution; DeAngelo proved last season that he very much belongs in the NHL and can help the Islanders, but playing him 23:21 per game on the top pair again does not seem sustainable. 

The market for righty defensemen is thin, which is part of the reason why Dobson could command $9.5 million annually despite struggling for much of last season. In a perfect world, the Islanders would take a run at Aaron Ekblad, who is exactly the sort of No. 1 defenseman they need and would bring a Stanley Cup-winning pedigree.

Evolving Hockey projects his next contract at six years with an annual $7.685 million cap hit. The number is a little uncomfortable but with the cap set to continue rising and the Islanders newly resourced, they could deal with it. 

Whether that’s a realistic proposition for the Islanders, and whether the market for Ekblad will outstrip that projection following a superb playoff run, is a different proposition that can’t be answered as of yet. 

After that, the options thin out. An Evan Bouchard offer sheet would be in pipe-dream territory. Maybe the Islanders could take a bet on 40-year-old Brent Burns or on the upside of Dante Fabbro or Nick Perbix. Maybe there’s a trade they could find, or an offer sheet they’d be willing to bet on. 

It’s as tough an assignment as Darche could have given himself going into July 1. He’ll need to come up with something.