- Elliotte Friedman says the Red Wings should start interviewing GM candidates next week
- Tigers GM Jeff Greenberg, a former Blackhawks associate GM, is a name in the mix
- Read below for what Detroit is asking every candidate to walk in with
Detroit’s search for its next general manager is about to get loud.
Elliotte Friedman told NHL Tonight the Red Wings should begin interviewing candidates next week, and he floated a name that has not been kicking around the rumor mill: Jeff Greenberg, the general manager of the Detroit Tigers.
Watch Friedman walk through where the search stands:
Friedman was asked what comes next in Detroit now that the Yzerplan is finished.
“There’s one name I want to mention because I don’t think it’s been out there a lot,” Friedman said. “It’s a person with a bit of a different background. His name is Jeff Greenberg. He’s the general manager of the Detroit Tigers. And Jeff Greenberg worked for the Chicago Blackhawks a few years ago.”
He put a fence around it right away.
“I think it’s wrong to say anybody is a lead contender or anybody’s got the inside track,” Friedman said. “But I do think he’s somebody who’s already in the organization who they have some interest in.”
Greenberg spent 16 months as associate general manager of the Blackhawks before the Tigers hired him in September 2023. He is an analytics guy, and Chris Ilitch owns both clubs, so the crossover is not as strange as it sounds.
The bigger takeaway from the segment was what Detroit is selling. Steve Yzerman is not sticking around in hockey operations, and Friedman said the winner of this job runs the department.
“The winning candidate or candidates will have autonomy, and the Red Wings are making it very clear that there is no shortage of resources here,” Friedman said.
Candidate or candidates is doing real work in that sentence. Ownership is open to hiring one person or two, and Friedman said the background does not have to be a traditional hockey one. Everyone who interviews is being asked to bring a concrete plan for fixing Detroit.
Whoever wins it inherits a full inbox. Simon Edvinsson needs a contract, Alex DeBrincat needs an extension, and Dylan Larkin still has a trade request sitting on the desk with no team willing to pay Detroit’s asking price.
Helene St. James reported the Wings want a first-line center back for Larkin, and nobody on his list is coughing one up. After a month of search firms and silence, the interviews start in a few days.
