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 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. Snow also received a great deal of praise from commenters on XM Radio and other reports for his organization's picks in the 2008 and 2009 entry drafts. In 2012, Snow reportedly offered all seven of the Islanders' draft picks - one in each round, including the fourth overall - to Columbus in exchange for the second overall pick. Columbus GM Scott Howson turned down the trade offer, and the Islanders ended up picking defenceman Griffin Reinhart at No. 4.
Read more about this topic: Garth Snow
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