BUFFALO — While the pair of signings the Islanders announced last week reflected deals that were brought to the finish line by Lou Lamoriello, general manager Mathieu Darche cast both Adam Boqvist and Kyle Palmieri as players who fit his faster-paced vision for the club.
“Kyle Palmieri brings us scoring and Adam is still young, so we got him at a great cap number,” Darche told The Post at the NHL scouting combine Thursday. “So we got him at a great cap number. I’ve had the experience even in Tampa of finding guys like that who come in and boom, they blossom. The style of play we want to play, the more uptempo style, I think fits [Boqvist’s] game very well.
“With Kyle, he’s a veteran guy, the leadership, and he’s a goalscorer. We can defend all we want — you can’t win if you don’t defend — but you need to score goals also and Kyle brings that. Between now and September, there might be more changes, more additions.”
While Palmieri and Boqvist were two important boxes to check, Darche has a slew of contracts to negotiate with 10 Islanders set to hit either restricted or unrestricted free agency on July 1.