The Detroit Red Wings are finally moving from patience to action in their search for a new director of hockey operations, and the process is set to kick into gear next week.
According to Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman, the interview phase is about to begin, and the person hired will have full autonomy when it comes to decision-making. Friedman also said the Red Wings are keeping their options open on structure, meaning the job could go to one person or be split between two. That would allow Detroit to bring in both a president of hockey operations and a general manager.
That kind of setup is already in place in Montreal, where Kent Hughes reports to president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton. Gorton handles the organizational direction, while Hughes manages the day-to-day decisions.
One name in the mix is Detroit Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg, a candidate Detroit Hockey Now writers had already heard connected to the opening. Friedman confirmed Greenberg is a possibility for a role with the Red Wings, though he said he isn’t reporting that Friedman is the favorite.
Greenberg’s background is mostly in baseball. He earned a law degree from Columbia and has internships on his resume with the Pittsburgh Pirates, MLB Executive Offices, Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs. He later became director of baseball operations in 2018 and director of professional scouting in 2019, then was promoted by the Cubs to assistant general manager in 2020.
The Chicago Blackhawks brought him in 2023 as associate general manager, and Scott Harris hired him away a year later for the Tigers job.
There’s also a hockey connection in Greenberg’s past. He grew up around the sport and was captain of the University of Pennsylvania club hockey team, which competes in the ACHA.
Chris Ilitch is reportedly looking for the Red Wings to bring more analytics into the organization, and that could make Greenberg an appealing candidate. The Tigers lean heavily on analytics themselves.
The Detroit Free Press also reported that Ilitch hired a law firm to compile a list of candidates for the search. The Red Wings and Steve Yzerman parted ways last month.
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