NEWSLETTER
With one game left on the schedule for the Blackhawks, the attention will turn to the off-ice questions, mainly the shaping of Kyle Davidson’s front office and the rebuilding of the NHL roster and the Blackhawks prospect pipeline.
ESPN NHL reporter Emily Kaplan reports that the Davidson has made a significant hire by landing former Chicago Cubs Assistant General Manager Jeff Greenberg to serve as his Associate GM with the Blackhawks.
News: Blackhawks are hiring Jeff Greenberg, formerly of the Chicago Cubs, as associate GM
Kyle Davidson to ESPN: "I think he can help push us into the area a lot of other sports are in right now, that hockey isn't necessarily at the level of in my opinon" https://t.co/xXcf4OJ01g
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) April 28, 2022
Greenberg was in the running for the Blackhawks GM job this season along with his new boss Kyle Davidson, but the Blackhawks ultimately opted to go with Davidson. Now, they get a “best of both worlds” scenario where they have two of their finalists for their GM job working hand-in-hand in the Chicago front office (one who has an intimate knowledge of the Blackhawks organization and another who has a progressive background and experience in another sport).
Here’s what Kyle Davidson had to say about the Greenberg hire:
“It’s the direction I always wanted to go,” Davidson told ESPN, “To bring in that outside influence and expertise we don’t have in-house, and someone that can bring the unique perspective of how a front office can be run. I’m excited to get his influence into our group. I think he can help push us into the area a lot of other sports are in right now, streamlining, modernizing, and adding sophistication to the decision-making process, that hockey isn’t necessarily at the level of, in my opinion.”
There’s nothing like having your cake and eating it too, right? This is an absolute home run hire for Davidson and the Blackhawks, who aren’t actually stopping at Greenberg.
According to the same Kaplan article linked above, the Blackhawks have added another associate GM: “Davidson has now rounded out what he calls his “core brain trust” after hiring longtime NHL executive Norm Maciver as another associate general manager. Maciver, 57, worked for the Blackhawks for 14 years before a brief stint with the Seattle Kraken. Maciver will oversee Chicago’s scouting operations.”
I’ll have more thoughts on this later as things continue to develop.
UPDATES:
The Blackhawks have now made the Greenberg hire official. Here are some statements from Kyle Davidson, Jeff Greenberg, and Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer:
#Blackhawks make the Jeff Greenberg hire official: pic.twitter.com/E7jwBU9cUS
— Patrick K. Flowers (@PatrickKFlowers) April 28, 2022
New #Blackhawks AGM Jeff Greenberg on his joining the Hawks:
"There couldn't be a more exciting time to get in on the ground floor of this journey and pursue every possible solution to put this team back on the path to winning hockey."
— Patrick K. Flowers (@PatrickKFlowers) April 28, 2022
#Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson on the Jeff Greenberg hire:
"Our journey is just beginning as we build a next-generation foundation for this team, and that starts with a focus on modernizing and improving the Hockey Operations infrastructure in our front office,"
— Patrick K. Flowers (@PatrickKFlowers) April 28, 2022
Cubs' Jed Hoyer on new #Blackhawks AGM Jeff Greenberg:
"Jeff is simply one of the best teammates I have worked with"
"He was critically involved in forward-looking decisions as we built the core of a world champion."
— Patrick K. Flowers (@PatrickKFlowers) April 28, 2022
