- Detroit held another round of GM interviews Thursday as the search to replace Steve Yzerman picks up
- Panthers AGM Brett Peterson and Sharks AGM Jeff Kealty are among the external names on the radar
- Read below for the two Carolina executives in the mix and where Jeff Greenberg fits
The Red Wings are further along in their general manager search than the silence out of Detroit suggested.
Another round of interviews took place Thursday, according to Ryan Hana of the Winged Wheel Podcast, and the external names circling the job finally have some shape. Florida assistant GM Brett Peterson and San Jose assistant GM Jeff Kealty are both on the radar, per Max Bultman of The Athletic.
Here is Hana confirming the process is live:
Bultman answered him about an hour later with the names he has been tracking:
Carolina’s Darren Yorke and Tyler Dellow got a mention too. That makes four assistant general managers from three of the sharper front offices in the league, which fits what Detroit has signaled since Yzerman slid into an advisory role. Chris Ilitch is running the committee, and the job comes with control of hockey operations.
Peterson has the deepest resume of the group. He became the NHL’s first Black assistant general manager when Bill Zito hired him in Florida in 2020, and he has two Stanley Cup rings from that run. He also ran Team USA as general manager at the 2024 World Championship and will do it again in 2026, with a gold medal in between as an assistant GM on the 2025 team.
Kealty is the newer riser. San Jose hired him in July after 25 years in Nashville, where he was passed over for the Predators GM chair.
Then there is Jeff Greenberg, the one candidate who does not fit the pattern. Bultman says the buzz around the Tigers GM has not gone anywhere, though he was not sure whether to file him under external candidates at all:
Ownership is the wrinkle. Ilitch Sports and Entertainment owns both the Tigers and the Red Wings, so hiring Greenberg would be closer to a move down the hall than a raid on another organization. He spent 16 months as an associate GM with the Blackhawks before Detroit’s baseball club hired him in 2023.
Elliotte Friedman first floated Greenberg on Aug. 8. Two weeks later the Tigers GM is still on the board, and the list around him finally has names.
