Best viewed at 1024 x 768 resolution

General Manager History - 5 GM's in 34 years

 

	Garth Snow Tenure: July 18, 2006 to present
	Former NHL goaltender Garth Snow retired from the New York Islanders on July 18, 2006 and was named the fifth general manager in franchise history. According to owner Charles Wang and the Islanders, Snow will be the point man for contract negotiations, trades and oversee the pro scouting department.
Snow was named the Islanders general manager following the dismissal of Neil Smith, who served as the Islanders 4th general manager for only 40 days. According to Wang, Snow was a finalist for the position before Smith was hired for the job on June 9, 2006.  Snow now joins Wang's new "Business Model" where decisions will be made by a committee which includes head coach Ted Nolan and former Islanders Bryan Trottier and Ken Morrow. Former GM Mike Milbury is still in the organization as well. Consensus belief is that Snow may actually thrive under these circumstances as it is more tailored for a non-experienced general manager.  Snow attended the University of Maine from 1988 to 1993. He graduated in 1993 with a Master's Degree in Educational Administration and a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. In 1992-1993 he led the Black Bears to a NCAA Championship, was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team and earned Hockey East Second Team All-Star honors. Snow led the NCAA in victories for three straight seasons from 1990-1992. He went on to represent Team USA at the 1994 Olympics in Norway. Last season was Snow's fourth with the Islanders and 12th in the NHL. The goaltender was 135-147-43 with a 2.80 GAA and .901 save percentage over 368 games with Quebec, Philadelphia, Vancouver, Pittsburgh and the Islanders. Originally selected in the sixth round by Quebec in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, the native of Wrentham, Mass. signed with the Islanders as a free agent on July 1, 2001. Snow played in 127 games as an Islander(ninth all-time among Islander goaltenders), predominantly as a backup to either Chris Osgood or Rick DiPietro. He went 44-52-13 as an Islander since 2001 and posted a 2.77 GAA with 4 shutouts. In 2005-06 Snow went 4-13-1 with a 3.72 GAA in 20 appearances. Snow becomes the second general manager in Islander history to have actually played for the team. According to the new CBA, players signed to a contract over the age of 35 must have their salaries count against the salary cap for the full length of the term. Snow has recently stated during radio interviews that he had his hip worked on following the 2005-06 season and hopes to persuade the NHL to drop his 2 remaining years, $750,000 a season salary from the Islanders overall cap. Garth and his wife Erica have two sons, Glenn and recent new born Miller.
Snow's Transactions 10/25/06: NYI trade D Ryan Caldwell to CBS for C Eric Boguniecki. 12/16/06: NYI trade D Alexei Zhitnik to PHI for D Freddy Meyer and a conditional third round pick (third round pick in 2007 (D Mark Katic) or second round pick in 2008). 12/19/06: NYI trade C Mike York to PHI for C Randy Robitaille and a 2008 fifth round draft pick (D Matthew Martin). 01/06/07: NYI trade C Matt Koalska to OTT for D Tomas Malec. 02/18/07: NYI trade D Denis Grebeshkov to EDM for D Marc-Andre Bergeron and a 2008 third round draft pick. 02/26/07: NYI acquire LW/RW Richard Zednik from WSH for a 2007 second round draft pick (D Ted Ruth). 02/27/07: NYI acquire LW Ryan Smyth from EDM for C Ryan O'Marra, RW Robert Nilsson and a 2007 first round draft pick (D Alex Plante). 07/05/07: NYI acquire 2008 second round pick (D Travis Hamonic) from EDM for D Allan Rourke and a 2008 third round pick. 09/11/07: NYI acquire C Ben Walter and a conditional second round pick in 2009 from BOS for C Petteri Nokelainen. 01/09/08: NYI acquire RW Matt Keith from ANA for LW Daryl Bootland. 02/26/08: NYI trade 2008 seventh round pick (D Jason Demers) to SJ for D Rob Davison. 02/26/08: NYI trade D Marc-Andre Bergeron to ANA for 2008 third round pick (LW Kirill Petrov). 02/26/08: NYI trade LW Chris Simon to MIN for 2008 sixth round pick (LW Justin DiBenedetto). 06/20/08: NYI trade 2008 Entry Draft first round pick (fifth overall - D Luke Schenn) to TOR for first round pick in 2008 (seventh overall) and, at NYI option: either PIT’s 2nd round pick in 2008 (60th overall, previously acquired) and TOR’s 3rd-round pick in 2009; or TOR’s 3rd round pick in 2008 (68th overall) and TOR’s 2nd round pick in 2009 (NYI selected option two). 06/20/08: NYI trade TOR’s 1st round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft (seventh overall - C Colin Wilson, previously acquired) to NSH for FLA’s 1st round pick in 2008 (ninth overall - C Josh Bailey, previously acquired) and FLA’s 2nd round pick in 2008 (40th overall - D Aaron Ness, previously acquired). 06/21/08: NYI acquire CHI's third round pick (72nd overall - D Jyri Niemi) and fourth round pick (102nd overall - W David Ullstrom) in 2008 for TOR’s third round pick in 2008 (68th overall - D Shawn Lalonde, previously acquired).

 

	Neil Smith Tenure: June 9, 2006 to July 18, 2006 (40 days)
	Neil Smith's tenure as Islanders' GM will undoubtedly go down as one of the shortest tenures in major league sports. Just 40 days after he was hired on June 9, 2006 Smith was unceremoniously fired by owner Charles Wang on July 18, 2006 for philosophical differences.
Wang stated that he hired Smith because of his knowledge of incorporating technology into drafting and every day general manager duties. Smith initially seemed very receptive to Wang's newly proposed "Business Model" where he would basically be a cog in a much more broader management team in which decisions would be made by a committee. Smith was hired by Wang after the hiring of Ted Nolan as head coach. Former Islanders Bryan Trottier and Pat LaFontaine were also brought in as part of the management team. Former Islander GM Mike Milbury is also a part of the organization still. Unfortunately, Smith's acceptance of his role and the roles of those around him quickly began to wane and he expressed his concern to Wang. Charles quickly changed his mind on Smith and against LaFontaine's advice fired Neil, replacing him with backup goaltender Garth Snow, who Wang stated was a finalist for the position before Smith was hired. As a result, LaFontaine relinquished his own role in the organization. Smith, a native of Toronto, originally came into the Islanders organization when he was drafted by the team in the thirteenth round (204th overall) in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft. Following his career as a player, Smith was hired by legendary Islanders coach Al Arbour as an advance scout. Smith started with the Islanders in 1980-81 and owns a 1982 Stanley Cup ring from the team. Smith played college hockey at Western Michigan University, where he spent three seasons from 1975-76 through 1977-78. As a freshman, Smith was selected to the All-America team as a defenseman. He was named team captain his sophomore season. Following his collegiate career at Western Michigan, Smith went on to play in the IHL for parts of three seasons, starting in the 1978 playoffs with the Kalamazoo Wings and wrapping up in the 1979-80 season with the Muskegon Mohawks. Smith also played for the Saginaw Gears, Dayton Gems and Milwaukee Admirals during his IHL playing days. He also suited up for the New Hampshire/Cape Cod Freedom of the Northeastern Hockey League and the Hampton Aces of the Eastern Hockey League.    Following his tenure with the Islanders as a scout, Smith moved on to the Detroit Red Wings organization in 1982-83, where he won two Calder Cup championships (1986 & 1989) as the general manager of the team's minor league affiliate, the Adirondack Red Wings. He also played a central role in drafting and developing some of the players that would lead the on-ice revival of the Detroit franchise.   Smith’s greatest success came as the general manager of the New York Rangers. Hired by the Rangers in July 1989, his teams compiled a record of 396-349-117-3 in his ten-season tenure from 1989-90 to 1999-2000. With Smith at the helm, the Rangers captured three division titles, two President's Trophies (best regular season record) in 1992 & 1995 and a Stanley Cup in 1994.   In his first three seasons, the Rangers finished in first place twice and second place once, marking the best three consecutive finishes in club history. In 1992, Smith was promoted to President and held both titles until the end of his tenure. Following the 1991-92 and 1993-94 seasons, Smith was named Executive of the Year by The Hockey News and The Sporting News, respectively.   In 1991, Smith was inducted into the Western Michigan University Hall of Fame. Over the past few seasons, Smith has worked as a consultant to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Pittsburgh Penguins and has also been a hockey analyst for ESPN and OLN.
Smith's Transactions 06/24/06: NYI trade the 71st pick overall in the 2006 NHL Draft to BOS in exchange for the 98th pick and the 126th pick. 06/24/06: NYI trade the 88th pick overall in the 2006 NHL Draft to PHX in exchange for the 115th pick & 119th pick. 06/24/06: NYI trade the 98th pick overall in the 2006 NHL Draft to SJ in exchange for the 108th pick & 173rd pick. 06/24/06: NYI trade the 110th pick overall in the 2006 NHL Draft to COL in exchange for the 141st pick & 171st pick.

 

	Mike Milbury Tenure: 1995 to 2006 (11 years)
	Mike Milbury was originally hired by the Islanders as the franchise's sixth head coach on July 5, 1995 by GM Don Maloney. Upon Maloney's dismissal, Milbury was named his successor as General Manager on December 12, 1995 making him just the third GM in Islander history. Before joining the Islanders Milbury served as an in-studio analyst on ESPN during the 1994-95 strike season. Mike was recruited out of Walpole High School to play football and hockey at Colgate University in 1972-73. While playing, he earned a degree in urban sociology. He signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins on November 5, 1974.
After 11 seasons as a stay at home defensemen with the Boston Bruins, Milbury became head coach of the Bruins' AHL affiliate in Maine on July 16, 1987. The Mariners captured the division title and Milbury was named AHL coach of the year in his first season. Following two seasons with Maine, Milbury returned to Boston after he was named head coach and assistant general manager of the Bruins on May 16, 1989. In his first two seasons with the Bruins, Milbury led his team to consecutive 100 point seasons and division titles. In 1989-90, he was named Coach of the Year by the Hockey News and the Sporting News after leading his team to the President's Trophy and an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. The following season, the Bruins advanced to the Conference Finals. In his tenure with the Islanders, Milbury has gone from working for unstable ownership (the late 1990's) to the acquisition by current owner Charles Wang in 2000, a well respected Long Island businessman who built Computer Associates from the ground up. Still, Milbury during his tenure did not endear himself to Islander fans. While certainly a nice individual and sometimes very entertaining with his style and the fact that he speaks his mind, Milbury has unfortunately made some glowing mistakes through trades because of his obvious impatience for prospects. He did make some good moves during his tenure but the ones he made that hurt the team were just too big for Islander fans to forget. Add that to the fact that he had an itchy trigger finger with hiring and firing coaches. He also fired two assistant GM's in Darcy Regier and Gordie Clark. He did manage to assemble an Islander team in 2001-02 that qualified for the postseason for the first time since 1994. That season the Islanders produced the fourth highest turnaround in NHL history. From 2002 to 2004 the Islanders qualified for the playoffs three straight years, but were eliminated in the first round by Toronto, Ottawa and Tampa Bay. In 2005-06, with the Islanders falling out of postseason contention Mike Milbury decided to step down as general manager following the dismissal of coach Steve Stirling. Wang plans to keep Milbury in the organization in another capacity. Mike is married to Ginger, a former Islander employee, and lives in Garden City. He has four sons, Owen, Luke, Jake and Jack Patrick, and two daughters, Alison and Caitlin.
Milbury's Most Memorable Transactions   click here for full list 01/23/96: G Damian Rhodes and D Wade Redden traded from NYI to OTT for G Don Beaupre, RW Martin Straka & D Bryan Berard. 01/23/96: G Don Beaupre and C Kirk Muller traded from NYI to TOR for future considerations(W Ken Belanger). 03/13/96: C Darby Hendrickson, D Kenny Jonsson, C Sean Haggerty and TOR 1st round choice in 1997 Entry Draft(4th overall: G Roberto Luongo) from TOR to NYI for LW Wendel Clark, D Mathieu Schneider and D D.J. Smith. 11/17/96: Islanders trade D Darius Kasparaitis and C/LW Andreas Johansson to the Penguins for C Bryan Smolinksi. 03/18/97: The Islanders acquire C Robert Reichel from the Flames for C/LW Marty McInnis and G Tyrone Garner. 06/21/97: Islanders select G Roberto Luongo and D Eric Brewer with the fourth and fifth overall picks in the entry draft. 02/06/98: Islanders trade D Bryan McCabe, C Todd Bertuzzi and a third-round draft pick to Vancouver for C Trevor Linden. 03/11/98: Rick Bowness is fired as coach. GM Mike Milbury takes over as coach. 05/18/98: Mike Milbury signs a five-year contract to remain as coach. 05/30/98: Islanders trade RW Jean-Pierre Dumont to the Chicago Blackhawks for C Dmitri Nabokov. 01/09/99: Islanders trade D Bryan Berard to Toronto for G Felix Potvin. 01/21/99: Mike Milbury resigns as coach, names assistant Bill Stewart as new head coach. 03/21/99: Islanders trade G Tommy Salo to Edmonton for F Mats Lindgren, and C Robert Reichel to Phoenix for LW Brad Isbister. 05/01/99: Butch Goring named as Islander head coach. 06/21/99: Islanders trade LW Zigmund Palffy, C Bryan Smolinski, G Marcel Cousineau to the Los Angeles Kings for C Olli Jokinen, LW Josh Green, D Mathieu Biron and the Kings' first pick (eighth overall) in the 1999 Entry Draft. 12/19/99: Islanders trade G Felix Potvin to the Vancouver Canucks for G Kevin Weekes, RW Bill Muckalt and C Dave Scatchard. 05/23/00: ANA trades RW Trent Hunter to NYI for CBS's 4th round pick in 2000(previously acquired by NYI. ANA selected Jonas Ronnqvist). 06/23/00: Islanders trade G Kevin Weekes, D Kristian Kudroc and a second-round pick to Tampa Bay for the fifth overall pick and fourth- and seventh-rounders. They also trade G Roberto Luongo and F Olli Jokinen to the Florida Panthers for F Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish, and trade D Eric Brewer and LW Josh Green to Edmonton for D Roman Hamrlik. 06/23/00: Islanders select G Rick Dipietro with No. 1 overall pick. Select LW Raffi Torres with No. 5 overall pick. 01/03/01: LA trades LW Jason Blake to NYI for a conditional pick in 2002(5th round - D Joel Andresen). 03/04/01: Coach Butch Goring is fired. Assistant coach Lorne Henning takes over on an interim basis. 05/21/01: Islanders name Peter Laviolette as new head coach. 06/22/01: Islanders acquire D Adrian Aucoin and LW Alexander Kharitonov from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for D Mathieu Biron and a 2002 second round draft pick. 06/23/01: Islanders obtain C Alexei Yashin from Ottawa for D Zdeno Chara, RW Bill Muckalt, and the second overall pick in the 2001 Draft. 06/24/01: Acquired C Michael Peca from Buffalo for C Tim Connolly and LW Taylor Pyatt. 06/22/02: NYI trade RW Mariusz Czerkawski to MTL for RW Arron Asham & a 5th round pick in 2002(F Markus Paulsson). 03/11/03: Islanders trade LW Brad Isbister and prospect LW Raffi Torres to the Edmonton Oilers for D Janne Niinimaa, a 2003 second round pick and a 2003 fourth round pick. 03/11/03: Islanders trade G Chris Osgood and a 2003 third round pick(Konstantin Barulin) to the St. Louis Blues for C Justin Papineau and a 2003 second round pick(C Jeremy Colliton). Papineau assigned to Bridgeport of the AHL. 10/03/05: Islanders trade Michael Peca for Mike York; sign Miroslav Satan to free-agent deal. 03/08/06: NYI trade RW Mark Parrish & D Brent Sopel to LA for LW Jeff Tambellini, D Denis Grebeshkov and a conditional 3rd round pick in 2006(dependant on LA making 2006 playoffs. They didn't qualify).

	Don Maloney Tenure: 1992 - 1995 (3 1/2 yrs)
	Don Maloney took over as the New York Islanders general manager in 1992 after GM Bill Torrey was phased out following 20 years of service. The previous season of 1991-92, Maloney served as Torrey's assistant. After retiring as a player on January 17, 1991 Maloney immediately was named as an assistant to coach Al Arbour and Torrey's assistant. He was acquired by the Islanders as a free agent in September of 1989. Maloney spent the end of the 1988-89 season with the Hartford Whalers after a trade from the New York Rangers, with whom he had played with for 11 years. He was a member of the Ranger teams that the Islanders defeated in the playoffs four consecutive years during the early 1980's.
At the time Maloney took over the general manager duties, he became the youngest GM in the league at age 34. One of his first moves was to bring back Darcy Regier as his assistant general manager. Maloney, as hard as he tried, could not always win over the Islander fans who sometimes viewed him as a spy from the New York Rangers. This belief, as silly as it sounds, was often used to explain some of Maloney's more questionable transactions. But he often stated that he had become a tried and true Islander upon his arrival back in 1989. On July 5th, 1999 Maloney hired ESPN TV analyst Mike Milbury as the Islanders head coach after dismissing Lorne Henning following a dismal 1995 season. Maloney's trade of Islander star Pierre Turgeon for disgruntled Kirk Muller was most likely one of the worst in Islander history and surely the outcome led to his firing in December of 1995, when he was replaced by Milbury.  Maloney soon went back to his roots following his days with the Islanders and re-joined the Rangers' organization. Today he is the assistant general manager to Glen Sather. Don is married to Toni and has a son named Donny, Jr.
Maloney's Most Memorable Transactions   click here for full list 08/24/92: RW Brian Mullen traded from SJ to NYI for the rights to RW Markus Thuresson. 06/20/93: NYI trade G Mark Fitzpatrick & 1st round pick in 1993(14th overall - Adam Deadmarsh) to QUE for G Ron Hextall & 1st round pick in 1993(23rd overall - RW Todd Bertuzzi). 06/28/94: NYI trade D Uwe Krupp & the 12th pick in 1994(D Wade Belak) to QUE for C Ron Sutter & the 9th pick in 1994(RW Brett Lindros). 06/29/94: NYI trade 64th overall pick(third round - RW Fredrik Modin) to TOR for 2nd round pick in 1995(D D.J. Smith). 09/22/94: NYI trade G Ron Hextall & a 6th round pick in 1995(D Dmitri Tertyshny) to PHI for G Tommy Soderstrom. 04/05/95: NYI trade C Pierre Turgeon & D Vladimir Malakhov to MTL for C Kirk Muller, D Mathieu Schneider & C Craig Darby. 04/06/95: NYI trade RW Benoit Hogue, a 3rd round pick in 1995(RW Ryan Peperall) & a 5th round pick in 1996(D Brandon Sugdon) to TOR for G Eric Fichaud. 10/03/95: NYI trade LW Steve Thomas to NJ for RW Claude Lemieux. NYI trade RW Claude Lemieux to COL for LW Wendel Clark.

 

	Bill Torrey Tenure: 1972 - 1992 (20 years)
	Bill Torrey, the first general manager in New York Islander history, endeared himself to the fans on Long Island as the architect of Four straight Stanley Cup Championships from 1980 to 1983. Every man who follows in the GM position have big shoes to fill left by Torrey and they have yet to live up anywhere close to his legacy. The first man hired by Roy Boe back in 1972 at the age of 37, Torrey guided an expansion team that won only 12 games in 1972-73, and 19 games in 1973-74 into a team that strung together 14 consecutive winning seasons between 1975 and 1988. During the Cup years, the Islanders won 19 consecutive playoff series, a record that may never be broken.
His best hire came in 1973 when he chose Al Arbour to coach the Islanders. Arbour would go on to nurture the Islanders young crop of players into a Stanley Cup powerhouse, cementing himself as one of the greatest coaches in NHL history. Torrey's most memorable trade was acquiring Butch Goring in 1980, a deal that helped the Islanders get over the hump and march towards their first Stanley Cup win the same year. In 1983, Torrey, a business and psychology graduate of St. Lawrence University(he also played defense for their hockey team), was awarded the Lester Patrick Award for outstanding service to the hockey community. In 1989 he added the additional role with the Islanders as Chairman of the Board, replacing team owner John O.Pickett, Jr. in that capacity. In 1992, the Islanders ownership was about to change and Torrey saw the writing on the wall that with new ownership may come new philosophies. During his final season as Islander GM he named Don Maloney his assistant and as Torrey was phased out he endorsed the hiring of Maloney as his replacement. Torrey was named a consultant but did not really play a major role in the Islanders management following his release as general manager. Prior to joining the Islanders, Torrey served as the executive Vice President of the Oakland Seals from 1968 to 1970. A few years after leaving the Islanders, Torrey joined the Florida Panthers organization and remains with them to this day in their front office as an Alternate Governor. Torrey's parents were American but they lived in Canada and he grew up just two blocks from the famed Montreal Forum. With his business degree he soon gained a job with the Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League. When the NHL expanded in 1967, Torrey was hired by Charlie Finley to run the Seals. Torrey is credited with saving the Islanders franchise from bankruptcy in 1978 as he teamed up with John O. Pickett, Jr. With the added post of President, Torrey helped turned the Islanders into a financially stable franchise.
Torrey's Most Memorable Transactions   click here for full list 06/26/72: NYI purchase G Glenn Resch, G Denis Dejordy, LW Germain Gagnon, Anthony Featherstone, Murray Anderson & Alec Campbell from MTL. 01/05/75: NYI trade C Ernie Hicke & Doug Rombough to MIN for LW Jean-Paul Parise. 01/07/75: NYI trade RW Craig Cameron to MIN for C Jude Drouin. 01/11/78: NYI trade D Jean Potvin & W J.P. Parise to CLE for C Wayne Merrick & D Darcy Regier. 10/19/78: NYI trade RW Michel Bergeron to WSH for a 2nd round pick in 1979(D Tomas Jonsson). 12/07/79: NYI trade C Mike Kaszycki to WSH for D Gord Lane. 03/09/80: NYI trade RW Billy Harris & D Dave Lewis to LA for C Butch Goring. 03/10/81: NYI trade G Glenn Resch & C Steve Tambellini to COL for D Mike McEwen & Jari Kaarela. 10/01/81: NYI trade D Bob Lorimer & C Dave Cameron to COL for a 1st round pick in 1983(3rd overall - C Pat LaFontaine). 01/08/85: C Butch Goring put on Waivers. Claimed by BOS. 03/11/86: NYI trade LW John Tonelli to CGY for D Steve Konroyd & C Richard Kromm. 10/06/86: RW Clark Gillies put on Waivers. Claimed by BUF. 10/06/86: C Bob Bourne put on Waivers. Claimed by LA. 02/22/89: NYI trade G Kelly Hrudey to LA for G Mark Fitzpatrick, D Wayne McBean & future considerations(D Doug Crossman). 11/29/89: NYI trade RW Mikko Makela to LA for C Hubie McDonough & D Ken Baumgartner. 11/13/90: NYI trade D Doug Crossman to HFD for C Ray Ferraro. 10/25/91: NYI trade C Brent Sutter & LW Brad Lauer to CHI for C Adam Creighton & LW Steve Thomas. 10/25/91: NYI trade C Pat LaFontaine, RW Randy Wood, D Randy Hillier & future considerations to BUF for C Pierre Turgeon, LW Benoit Hogue, D Uwe Krupp & LW Dave McLlwain. 06/20/92: NYI trade 1st round pick (8th overall - W Brandon Convery) & 2nd round choice (later traded to WSH - G Jim Carey) in 1992 to TOR for TOR's 1st round choice in 1992(5th overall - D Darius Kasparaitis).

islesinfo.com

1998-2007 Tom Mascioli