There were some empty offices at Channelside Drive this week as a couple members of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization moved on to new opportunities. Assistant coach Jeff Blashill was the first to depart as he was named the new head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. That news was followed up with the announcement that Mathieu Darche had accepted the position of general manager and executive vice president of the New York Islanders.
The Blashill announcement was expected for a couple of days, ever since Elliotte Friedman had reported that he was the leading candidate to take over the rebuild in Chicago about a week ago. He departs after three seasons in Tampa where he served as an assistant coach on Jon Cooper’s staff. With his primary responsibilities involving the defense and penalty kill, he was often subject to the scorn of many Lightning fans when the team under-performed in those areas.
During his tenure in Tampa the Lightning defense ranked as follows:
2022-23 – 15th in 5v5 goals allowed at 2.48
2023-24 – 27th in 5v5 goals allowed at 2.87
2024-25 – 6th in 5v5 goals allowed at 2.13
The penalty kill fared a little better:
2022-23 – 15th – 79.7%
2023-24 – 5th – 83.3%
2024-25 – 6th – 81.5%
Prior to his stint on Coach Cooper’s staff, Blashill was behind the bench during the Detroit Red Wings rebuild, spending seven seasons in the Motor City and compiling a 204-261-72 record before being replaced by Derek Lalonde in the summer of 2022.
Darche’s rise through the ranks has been meteoric. The 48-year-old former left winger played 73 games with the Lightning in 2007-08 as part of a long career bouncing back-and-forth between the AHL and NHL. He retired after the 2011-12 season and pursued a career in logistics working for Delmar International. He would return to the hockey world in May of 2019 when the Lightning hired him as the director of hockey operations.
After being part of an executive team responsible for three Stanley Cup Finals appearances and two Cup wins, he attracted the interest of other organizations. It is rumored that he was in the running for the Pittsburgh Penguins job prior to them hiring Kyle Dubas. The Islanders finally lured him away to replace Lou Lamoriello. Darche will have his hands full as he tries to get New York back into contention in a tough Metropolitan Division. Right out of the gate he’ll have to decide on how best to use the Islanders’ first overall draft pick. Does he go with the presumptive top-ranked prospect in defenseman Matthew Schaefer, or does he look to improve his forward corps with Michael Misa or James Hagens?
As for the Lightning, they will be looking to fill the holes in the organization, and they may not be done losing coaches. Jeff Halpern is supposedly in the mix for the Boston Bruins head coaching gig. The long-time assistant has drawn a lot of interest over the last few years and it’s only a matter of time until he gets a chance to run a team.
It’s been a long-held tenant for Lightning coaches and executives that the team won’t hold them back if they have an opportunity for upward mobility in their careers. Honestly, it’s a bit surprising that it’s taken this long for other organizations to pick off some of their executives considering the success the Lightning have had over the last decade.
