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Mathieu Darche picked up right where Lou Lamoriello left off. The new Islanders general manager announced his first two moves Friday, completing a pair of contract negotiations Lamoriello
had brought to the finish line before his ouster a month ago by signing Kyle Palmieri to a two-year extension and inking a one-year extension with Adam Boqvist. Palmieri’s deal has a $4.75
million average annual value, and Boqvist’s comes in at $850,000, per industry sources. According to PuckPedia, Palmieri also has a full no-trade clause next season that gets whittled down
to a 16-team no-trade clause in 2026-27. The speed at which the deals were announced isn’t much of a surprise. EXPLORE MORE At his introductory press conference Thursday, Darche said he’d
already spoken with “most of the agents” representing the club’s pending free agents — and it only made sense those two would be at the top of the list given negotiations already were well
underway when Lamoriello was let go. Palmieri’s future was up in the air at the March trade deadline, but Lamoriello hung onto him with the understanding the two sides could move forward on
an extension. The 34-year-old Palmieri, who was born in Smithtown, made no secret of his desire to stay on Long Island. Since being acquired in 2021, Palmieri has become one of the leaders
for the Islanders, and his productivity has bounced back after a couple injury-riddled seasons. He’s the only Islander to play 82 games each of the last two years, and finished last season
with 24 goals and 24 assists — third on the team in goal scoring. “You can’t just replace someone like Kyle out of thin air sometimes,” captain Anders Lee said after Darche met the media
Thursday. “I know what he means to this team. I know what he means to me as a friend, as a teammate. Kyle’s a great player, and he’s played in this league for a long time. He knows what it
takes to win, how to play the game. He can get dirty if he needs to and he puts the puck in the net. Those are tough to replace.” ON THE ICE FROM LONG ISLAND Sign up for Inside the Islanders
by Ethan Sears, a weekly Sports+ exclusive. THANK YOU As for Boqvist, the Swedish defenseman was acquired off waivers in January and carved out a place as an offensive defenseman, with
Patrick Roy taking a liking to his power-play acumen and willingness to play forward in a pinch. There’s a lot still up in the air with the Islanders’ defensive corps, but it’s likely
Boqvist will start next season in a similar place as he ended last season: as the club’s sixth or seventh defenseman and someone Roy can turn to for an offensive boost.