Chicago Blackhawks are hiring Jeff Greenberg, their former associate general manager, along with former Chicago Cubs.
General Manager Kyle Davidson confirmed the news to ESPN on Thursday that Greenberg “will help take the Blackhawks to the next generation.”
“This is the direction I’ve always wanted to go,” Davidson told ESPN. I think it can help us push the field of many other sports right now, to streamline the decision-making process, to add modernity and sophistication, not hockey. In my opinion, not necessarily at that level. “
Davidson, 33, was appointed general manager in March after a lengthy search for ownership, including 36-year-old Greenberg as the finalist. Davidson is now known as his “core brain trust” after appointing longtime NHL executive Norm Massive as another associate general manager. McIver, 57, worked for the Blackhawks for 14 years before working with the Seattle Kraken for some time. Massive will oversee Chicago’s scouting operations.
The Blackhawks are in the early stages of rebuilding, and Davidson said that as they move forward, the team wants to restructure its office and modernize its processes. In particular, Greenberg will be tasked with building a new computer and app-based system that will facilitate information for the organization – a journey in which he had a front row seat with the cubs. In the end, Davidson said, the team will have all the information centralized and “at our fingertips” which will “reduce things like unnecessary calls.”
“I started talking in the GM process, and talking to [Davidson] and [Massiver] recently, it became very clear and even clearer that there is an opportunity to do something new here. It can – and it will touch everything from scouting to player development. “
Greenberg has spent 11 years in baseball operations with the Cubs, most recently as assistant general manager. He joined the team in 2011 and helped rebuild the 2016 World Series for Chicago.
“I had a unique experience with the cubs coming to ground level, with an exhibition of what we were creating,” Greenberg said. “To build a championship team, you need to have the ability to create indigenous talent; it’s unprecedented and no one paying attention should be surprised. The hardest part is, how do you do that? How do you do it? Trying hard to find the best available information for decision making means you can make a difference. “
Greenberg, who has a law degree, also worked for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates front office and spent time in Major League Baseball working in labor relations. Davidson said Greenberg would not take part in the day-to-day running of the pay cap and contract, although his team would oversee it. Davidson said the Blackhawks will fill the rest of their hockey operations staff next week.
Davidson warns that the ingredients Greenberg wants to create will “take time” and “are not crated overnight.”
“We’re just starting the first phase of reconstruction,” Davidson said. “I’m excited, and I’m excited about this rent because now we have a cornerstone that will buy the product on ice.”
Although he has spent his entire professional career in baseball, Greenberg said he has always considered himself a “hockey man at heart.” Greenberg started skating at the age of 3 and played hockey when he grew up. He was born a year after the Penguins drafted Mario Lemix, and enjoyed Pittsburgh success in the 1990s.
