The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan addresses the rumors that Detroit Tigers GM Jeff Greenberg may be in the running for a similar position with the Detroit Red Wings, as suggested by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on his NHL Tonight appearance one week ago:
Greenberg, 40, a graduate of Columbia Law School, isn’t your typical “hockey man” — and, interestingly, that might just be exactly what Christopher Ilitch is looking for with this particular hire.
Tigers president Scott Harris hired Greenberg in September 2023, after the two worked together with the Chicago Cubs from 2012-19. Greenberg interned with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks and MLB’s executive office during his undergraduate studies and during law school. Greenberg joined the Cubs in 2012 as an intern in baseball operations and climbed his way to becoming assistant GM in 2020.
Greenberg then joined the NHL Chicago Blackhawks in 2022, becoming an associate general manager and being credited for building one of the strongest analytic departments in the league.
It’s because of Greenberg’s potent analytical skills that make him an intriguing candidate to join the Wings.
Seeing the success of the Tigers since Harris has made them more analytics- and data-driven, along with much of Ilitch Sports & Entertainment becoming more data driven, Ilitch wants to see the hockey operation make the same leap.
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It’s unclear what kind of front-office structure the Wings will have in their new alignment. Would it be a two-person arrangement, with each person responsible for certain and separate departments? Or would it be the more traditional GM role with different departments reporting to that one person? Greenberg has background in a variety of front offices, and different sports.
Greenberg has extensive work experience in baseball, but he knows his way around a hockey rink. Greenberg played club hockey collegiately at University of Pennsylvania, was a passionate Pittsburgh Penguins growing up in Pennsylvania, and did impressive work in the Blackhawks’ front office.
Kulfan continues; Greenberg is indeed an “outside-the-box” hire, as Friedman suggested, but he seems to be qualified for the job.
