Mathieu Darche could be opting for Islanders continuity after all in first offseason

If Mathieu Darche is planning to take a wrecking ball to the Islanders roster this summer, then the new general manager is doing a great job of hiding it.Best-laid plans can always change, but a few weeks into Darche’s tenure, it looks more like he’ll be operating this offseason with a scalpel.While phrases such as “We believe in the group” haven’t been broken out, it wouldn’t be a surprise at this point if the roster in training camp looks a lot like the 2024-25 Islanders with a No.

1 pick and prospect Calum Ritchie as the two most important additions.While much has been made about the Islanders’ approximate $22.3 million in cap space this summer, using that money to reshape the roster requires an active commitment from the front office.Noah Dobson, Alexander Romanov, Max Tsyplakov and Simon Holmstrom, restricted free agents all, will take up $18 million or so of that pie, even if all four end up on team-friendly deals.From there, the Islanders would have $4.3 million or so to make some adds — which is less than the $7.5 million total by which the salary cap is rising this offseason for every team, and won’t equate to much.At most, the Islanders would be looking at changes to the bottom of the depth chart, or perhaps a signing in the middle six along the lines of Anthony Duclair last summer.

The group will look younger if Ritchie, the No.1 pick and Isaiah George all start the year with the Islanders, but its ethos won’t change much.Contention, then, would be contingent on a far healthier season than the Islanders just had, a better coaching performance from Patrick Roy, a couple of rookies stepping in as impact players right away and more cohesion across the board.If Darche wanted to tear the whole thing down, the obvious way to try would be moving some of those restricted free agents — in particular Dobson — for assets, shopping around some vets currently under contract and then building a future around Ritchie, the No.

1 pick, Cole Eise...