Playing career

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 National Collegiate Athletic Association (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.

As a Canuck in 1998-99, he registered career highs in games played (65), wins (20), and shutouts (6). 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 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. 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 moves to open up space under the salary cap and using the space to trade for Marc-André Bergeron, Richard Zedník and Ryan Smyth. Snow was named NHL Executive of the Year for 2006-07 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.

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-Hockey East Second Team	1991-92
All-Hockey East Second Team	1992-93
Hockey East All-Tournament Team	1993
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team	1993

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season										Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T/OT	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1988-89	University of Maine	HE		5	2	2	0	241	14	1	3.49			—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1990-91	University of Maine	HE		25	18	4	0	1290	64	2	2.98			—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1991-92	University of Maine	HE		31	25	4	0	1792	73	2	2.44			—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1992-93	University of Maine	HE		23	21	0	1	1210	42	1	2.08			—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1993-94	United States NT	Intl		23	13	5	3	1324	71	1	3.22			—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1993-94	Cornwall Aces	AHL		16	6	5	3	927	51	0	3.30	.891		13	8	5	790	42	0	3.19
1993-94	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		5	3	2	0	279	16	0	3.44	.874		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1994-95	Cornwall Aces	AHL		62	32	20	7	3558	162	3	2.73	.900		8	4	3	402	14	2	2.09
1994-95	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		2	1	1	0	119	11	0	5.55	.825		1	0	0	9	1	0	6.78	.667
1995-96	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		26	12	8	4	1437	69	0	2.88	.894		1	0	0	1	0	0	0.00	.000
1996-97	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		35	14	8	8	1884	79	2	2.52	.903		12	8	4	699	33	0	2.83	.892
1997-98	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		29	14	9	4	1651	67	1	2.43	.902		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1997-98	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		12	3	6	0	504	26	0	3.10	.901		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1998-99	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		65	20	31	8	3501	171	6	2.93	.900		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1999-00	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		32	10	15	3	1712	76	0	2.66	.902		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2000-01	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		35	14	15	4	2032	101	3	2.98	.900		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2000-01	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		3	2	1	0	178	7	0	2.36	.920		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2001-02	New York Islanders	NHL		25	10	7	2	1217	55	2	2.71	.900		1	0	0	26	2	0	4.71	.895
2002-03	New York Islanders	NHL		43	16	17	5	2390	92	1	2.31	.918		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2003-04	New York Islanders	NHL		39	14	15	5	2015	94	1	2.80	.899		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2004-05	SKA St. Petersburg	RSL		16	-	-	-	-	-	1	2.75	-		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2005-06	New York Islanders	NHL		20	4	13	1	1096	68	0	3.72	.886		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2005-06	Bridgeport Sound Tigers	AHL		1	1	0	0	60	1	0	1.00	.967		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				368	135	147	44	19,837	925	16	2.80	.900		20	9	8	1039	48	1	2.77	.896

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
1994	United States	OG		5	1	3	1	299	17	0	3.41
1998	United States	WC		5	1	2	1	260	12	0	2.77
Senior int'l totals				10	2	5	2	559	29	0	2.90

[ Source: Wikipedia ]