Jeff Greenberg, who has served as General Manager of the Detroit Tigers since October 2023, interviewed for the vacant General Manager position with the Detroit Red Wings, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The interview marks one of the few times a sitting MLB front office executive has been considered for a senior NHL role, and the first time Ilitch Holdings has explored cross-pollination between its flagship franchises.
The Red Wings have operated without a GM since Steve Yzerman's organizational restructure in late March, when assistant GM Ryan Martin departed for a scouting role and the team announced it would take a "methodical" approach to the search. Greenberg, 36, joined the Tigers from the Chicago Cubs analytics department in 2021, was promoted to Assistant GM in 2022, and took the top job eighteen months ago. His tenure has been defined by payroll discipline and player development infrastructure—Detroit's farm system now ranks seventh in Baseball America's organizational rankings after finishing 22nd in 2021—but the Tigers finished 86-76 in 2024, missing the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season. The $145 million payroll ranks 18th in MLB, below the league average.
The logic is organizational bandwidth, not resume. Christopher Ilitch, who controls both franchises through the family trust, has privately told advisors he wants "one culture" across the properties, according to two people who have spoken with ownership. The Red Wings' analytics operation lags the league—Detroit ranks 27th in public-facing Evolving Hockey metrics for roster efficiency, and the team has not employed a vice president of hockey operations with a quantitative background since leaving Joe Louis Arena in 2017. Greenberg's fluency in Python and R, combined with his experience managing a $140 million scouting and development budget at the Tigers, gives him a skill set the Wings lack. The question is whether baseball analytics translate. Hockey's smaller sample sizes, continuous play, and goaltending variance have historically resisted the Moneyball treatment, though teams like Tampa Bay and Carolina now operate with MLB-style research departments. Greenberg has no hockey background, which is either disqualifying or irrelevant depending on which exec you ask.
The broader signal is Ilitch Holdings' willingness to treat the franchises as a portfolio rather than siloed assets. The company generated $1.8 billion in revenue across sports and Little Caesars in fiscal 2023, but the Red Wings have missed the playoffs eight of the last nine seasons despite the $82.5 million cap hit in 2023-24, and attendance at Little Caesars Arena has declined 11 percent since 2018. Sponsors have privately grumbled about activation opportunities, particularly in the suite level, where Tigers corporate packages now outperform Wings deals by a 2:1 margin according to two sponsorship consultants. A shared GM or overlapping front office structure could unlock cost efficiencies—combined scouting budgets, unified data infrastructure, joint sponsorship pitches—though it risks creating reporting confusion if Greenberg keeps one foot in Comerica Park.
The Wings are also interviewing traditional hockey candidates, including former Carolina assistant GM Eric Tulsky and Minnesota's Judd Brackett, both of whom have spent their entire careers in the sport. Tulsky, 44, holds a PhD in chemistry and built the Hurricanes' analytics group before moving into player personnel; Brackett, 46, is credited with drafting Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson during his time in Vancouver. Either would represent a safer, more conventional hire. Greenberg would represent a bet that process matters more than domain knowledge, and that Detroit's struggles stem from organizational design rather than talent evaluation. His interview alone suggests Ilitch is at least entertaining the hypothesis.
Watch for coordinator hires if Greenberg advances. He would likely need to bring in a hockey lifer as assistant GM to handle CBA mechanics, trade calls, and agent relationships—areas where baseball experience offers no carryover. The Tigers' front office calendar quiets after the Winter Meetings in early December, which would give Greenberg a narrow window to transition if Detroit moves quickly. The Wings' next board meeting is scheduled for late November, and ownership typically signals major hires within 72 hours of final interviews.
The Red Wings open training camp in late September. The Tigers' season ends October 1st, barring a playoff run no one expects.
The takeaway
Ilitch Holdings is testing whether baseball analytics infrastructure can rescue a stagnant hockey operation, signaling a portfolio approach to franchise management.
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