Talk about a sweet entry-level job. Garth Snow, the backup goaltender of the New York Islanders (formerly a backup goaltender with Quebec, Philadelphia, Vancouver, and Pittsburgh) was named the new General Manager of the Islanders despite no work experience… and that pretty much includes his NHL career too.

I am sure that he is a smart guy and probably has had many conversations with management that led them to believe in him, but the NHL is a multi-million dollar industry and they just put a rookie in charge of making player personnel decisions. I can understand moving from player to coach (many have been successful at this), but there is a pretty long track record of former players falling flat on their faces when it comes to the whole personnel thing (Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas come to mind).

Some former players have made it, like Billy Beane of the A’s, but he was eased into the position. It will definately be interesting how this plays out, and Garth may honestly only have three years max to make an impact, which is not fair, but its life. But I still say its a helluva way to start building your resume.

• Snow starts quickly on first day as Islanders GM (AP)