Islanders GM Mathieu Darche makes his feelings known on 'fiery' Patrick Roy

New York Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche spoke about coach Patrick Roy on Friday. Roy has a record of 55-47-17 since replacing former coach Lane Lambert in January 2024. The Islanders finished 35-35-12 last season and missed the playoffs; however, he is going to stay in his role.

Darche, who replaced Lou Lamoriello as GM in May, talked about people's perception of Roy.

"People always say Patrick Roy has an ego," Darche said, via The Athletic. "He doesn’t. He’s fiery and he wants to win. The impression from the outside is that it has to be his way, but he’s actually very humble. I’ve really enjoyed working with him. It’s been very collaborative, (and) it’s been great."

Roy, who won four Stanley Cups (1986, 1993, 1996, and 2001) in his playing career, helped the Islanders reach the playoffs in 2024. They had a strong late-season run, but they lost in the first round to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Darche shared that he felt comfortable with Roy from their first meeting.

"The first time I had Patrick’s number was the day I got named GM," Darche said, recalling the memories from May. "Two days after I got named, I flew to Montreal and spent about five hours with Patrick. I was really comfortable with him. ... (Later) I had him in our meetings for the draft and July 1."

Heading into the 2025-26 season, Roy needs to work on the Islanders' power play and penalty kill. They ranked 31st in both with a 12.6% power play and 72.2% penalty kill.

Patrick Roy talked about Islanders' first pick

Islanders coach Patrick Roy shared his thoughts on defenseman Matthew Schaefer, who was drafted first by the Isles in the 2025 NHL draft. Roy praised Schaefer for being humble and grateful as a young player.

"We're going to give him all the opportunity and support him," Roy said, via NHL.com. "But the thing that I really love about him is how humble and grateful he is. I do believe that he's going to be very successful."

Schaefer is only 17 but has shown confidence, and Roy said he values how grounded and focused Schaefer is.

"He's very intelligent, very mature," Roy said. "We already had dinner with him, and I was very impressed with him."

Patrick Roy will be expecting steady growth for both the Islanders and Schaefer in the upcoming years.