Garth Snow Garth E . Snow ( born on July 28 , 1969 in Wrentham , Massachusetts ) is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender and is currently the general manager for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League . Playing career . Garth Snow was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques out of Mount Saint Charles Academy in the sixth round of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft . He went straight to the University of Maine for four years and for three straight years led the NCAA in wins . After helping lead the school to a 42 – 1 – 2 record and the NCAA Championship in 1993 , he was named to the All - Tournament team . After spending the majority of 1993 – 94 playing for the United States National Team which included playing in the 1994 Winter Olympics , he turned to his professional career , seeing his first NHL action in five games for the Nordiques . Snow recorded 32 wins in 62 games for the Cornwall Aces of the AHL during 1994 – 95 . After the Quebec franchise relocated to Colorado , Snow was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for two draft picks during the off - season . Garth would back up veteran Ron Hextall for over two seasons and would alternate with Hextall during the Flyers ' run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1997 , most notably playing in Game 2 of the Finals . Near the trade deadline in 1997 – 98 , he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Sean Burke . It was as a Canuck that Garth Snow enjoyed his best season in 1998 – 99 , registering career highs in game played ( 65 ) , wins ( 20 ) , and shutouts ( 6 ) . However , his workload was cut in half the following season and he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to 2000 – 01 . His stay in Pittsburgh lasted only one season as he signed with the New York Islanders in the off - season . He would remain an Islander for the rest of his career , primarily as a backup to veteran Chris Osgood and then youngster Rick DiPietro . Throughout his career , Snow was the target of the league office on several occasions over his goaltending equipment , in particular his shoulder pads , which opposing teams accused of violating league rules on size . Also , according to former teammate Mike Peca , Garth Snow was one of the best trash - talkers around . " He ' s got such a wit and sense of humor like no other . Snow says things that will cut you without being rude or obnoxious . " ( The Hockey News , August 30 , 2002 ) . Snow was regarded as a respected leader both on and off the ice . Islanders General Manager . On July 18 , 2006 , Snow officially confirmed his retirement and was named General Manager of the New York Islanders following Neil Smith ' s dismissal after 41 days on the job . There was much criticism directed the Islanders way for firing a Stanley Cup - winning GM after such a short tenure in favor of Snow , who at the time of his hiring held no experience in management . Defenders of the organization pointed to Snow ' s Master ’ s Degree in Administration and Bachelor ’ s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Maine . In Snow ' s first season as GM , he earned praise for making smart moves to open up space under the salary cap and using the space to trade for Marc - André Bergeron , Richard Zednik and Ryan Smyth . Snow was named NHL Executive of the year for 2006 – 2007 by Sports Illustrated . . International career . Played for United States in :