SAN JOSE, Calif. — Mathieu Darche wanted to take a swing at the trade deadline to reward an Islanders team that has contended beyond what anyone expected this season. The general manager did not want to give up any of his top prospects, such as Victor Eklund or Kashawn Aitcheson.
The result was that, after a few days of rumors surrounding Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas, Darche opted to pull the trigger on a different Blues player: Brayden Schenn. The Islanders acquired St. Louis’ captain in exchange for a package of assets, including Colorado’s 2026 first-round pick, the Devils’ 2026 third-round pick, Jonathan Drouin and goaltending prospect Marcus Gidlof.
“We always said we want to be hard to play against. We have some snarl, and Brayden fits that,” Darche said. “You should see the texts we got from former players, players that have been with him. He plays hard. If something happens, he’s not afraid to defend a teammate. He’s scored 20 goals multiple times in his career.
“… He’s a competitor. That’s what you want. At this time of year when you play hockey after the deadline and in the playoffs, it’s fighting for every inch on the ice, being able to take a hit and dish out hits. We want to be physical and Brayden does that. I think he fits exactly what we need right now.”
Schenn, with two years left on his contract at $6.5 million annually, waived his no-trade clause to come to the Islanders.
He’s had a down year so far with the Blues, with 12 goals and 16 assists through 61 games, having been at or above 50 points per season for most of his career, though some of that can likely be attributed to St. Louis having a rough season.
There was a pleasant coincidence at play, too, since both the Islanders and Blues were staying in the same San Jose hotel with St. Louis playing there Friday night, allowing Schenn to meet with Darche and Patrick Roy in-person before waiving his no-trade clause. The Isles also finish this trip in St. Louis on Tuesday, which will allow a proper goodbye for the 34-year-old Schenn, who spent the last nine seasons in the city.
“He’ll be able to pack his bags and have more than a couple pairs of underwear,” Darche quipped.
Though he can play both wing and center, Darche said the plan for now is for Schenn to be a center. That, presumably, would require Cal Ritchie to shift over to the wing, which might be comfortable for the Islanders given the 21-year-old’s struggles at the faceoff dots.
“We know he has the abilities,” Darche said of Ritchie, who has been given top-six responsibilities as a rookie. “He still has to work on the physical strength, the battling, the speed of execution to get the pucks. He’s a great prospect. Instead of learning in the AHL, he’s learning in the NHL. He’s done a great job.”
Drouin, the sole NHLer who went the other way in the deal, was moved in large part to help keep the Islanders’ cap situation flexible after taking on Schenn’s contract. That said, Darche also acknowledged that the winger who had gone 38 games without scoring had “lost his confidence along the way.”
As for the first-round pick, it was Darche’s preference to give up draft picks as opposed to high-end prospects who could turn pro as soon as next season.
It helps, too, that the Islanders had two first-round picks for next season and retained their own — though that is now the only pick they have in the first three rounds of the draft.
“The beauty of it is, we didn’t touch any of our top prospects that will turn pro next year. That was the goal of this,” Darche said. “… Our guys that have been drafted a year ago or two years ago, I’d rather give a draft pick than them ’cause they’re a year or two ahead in their development ’cause they’re already drafted. We’ve achieved that without touching most of our top prospects.”
It was their only trade of deadline day, though Darche did ink a three-year extension with Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Darche already had gotten some business done before the Olympic break when he brought in Carson Soucy and Ondrej Palat.
