And then Darche spent the first 11 words of his answer to the first question he fielded making the most declarative statement of all about the Islanders’ new era.

Mathieu Darche was all smiles as he was formally introduced as the New York Islanders' executive vice president and general manager.

New Islanders general manager/executive vice president Mathieu Darche has a long to-do list as he settles into his first opportunity to run an NHL team. But, in less than a week on the job, he decided he was comfortable working with coach and fellow French-Canadian Patrick Roy.