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 Eiserman and trade returns.

Even a middle ground that kept the Islanders competitive while substantially changing the mix right away would likely involve moving Dobson, and Darche shot that possibility down in an interview with The Post at the scouting combine.

He went further in an interview with Newsday, heavily implying he wanted to keep all four of the aforementioned restricted free agents and saying he didn’t expect Pierre Engvall or Scott Mayfield to be bought out.

So unless there’s a hockey trade Darche can make — or, more pertinent, one that he wants to make — the window for sweeping roster reconstruction looks just about closed off, at least as far as the summer is concerned.

Longer term, Ritchie and the top pick, whoever it is, still represent potential cornerstone pieces who could start next season on the roster.

Eiserman is more likely to be at BU for his sophomore season, but if he made his Islanders debut late next season, it wouldn’t be a surprise.

If George can build on his promising NHL debut and stick in the lineup, it’s another piece of the puzzle.

That, essentially, jibes with what Darche said at his introductory news conference, when he spoke more about major changes at AHL Bridgeport (which, everyone agrees, is in serious need of it) than with the NHL team.

“I think this team last year, because of various factors, probably should’ve been a playoff team,” Darche said. “Do we have work to do to improve it? Of course we do. … We have a plan to improve the team, but it’s gonna happen over time, also. But I don’t think this team is a team that can’t make the playoffs.”

Nothing he’s said since has made that sound like lip service.

In other words, the pace of change here is going to be slow and steady.