The Daily: Second Tigers Exec May Be in Red Wings Mix; Crosby vs. Ovi — They’ve Played 101 Times

The post The Daily: Second Tigers Exec May Be in Red Wings Mix; Crosby vs. Ovi — They’ve Played 101 Times appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Hockey Insider Elliotte Friedman believes a second member of the Detroit Tigers front office – vice president of baseball analytics Andrew Thomas — has interviewed to become the Detroit Red Wings director of hockey operations.

Friedman said this on his “32 Thoughts” podcast. On an earlier podcast, Friedman dropped the name of Detroit Tigers general manager Jeff Greenberg as a candidate. The job could be appealing to Greeberg because he would be the No. 1 decisionmaker. In the Tigers hierarchy, Scott Harris makes the important decisions.

Reports say the Red Wings haven’t settled on what the management structure will look like, meaning they could hire both a director of hockey ops and a GM.

Greenberg was formerly an associate general manager for the Chicago Blackhawks, while Thomas created a hockey analytics website (War On Ice) in 2014. Thomas also worked for the Minnesota Wild.  He boasts bachelor’s in physics from MIT and master’s and doctorate degrees in statistics from Harvard.

The Red Wings have made it clear that they want a stronger analytics presence. Friedman’s report said the Tigers like Thomas. Could they move Greenberg to the Red Wings and make Thomas the Tigers’ GM?

Friedman also reported that in-house candidates Kris Draper and Sean Horcoff have already interviewed for the job. Horcoff is currently handling Detroit’s day-to-day operations.

Fans want to watch the Red Wings on television, despite their 10-year playoff drought.

Detroit prospect Victor Plante already has a reputation as an annoying pest to play against.

Insider Elliotte Friedman theorizes Steve Yzerman was fired — he didn’t step down.

The Detroit Red Wings’ to-do list is long and packed with important items like hiring Steve Yzerman’s replacement, trading Dylan Larkin and re-signing RFA Simon Edvinsson and Alex DeBrincat (UFA next summer). It’s easy to forget that the Red Wings haven’t announced who will replace Paul Woods as the team’s radio analyst. It’s a tough fill because Woods is a beloved figure in Red Wings’ lore.

It’s cool to see all the European guys(Mo, Raymond,Aljo, ASP) practicing with the teams that got them to where they are today. https://t.co/ftDzCQfDob

Colorado: Insider Elliotte Friedman reports the Avalanche are close on a whopper contract tiwht defenseman Cale Makar. Colorado Avalanche

Florida: The Panthers have enjoyed some success in bringing players to training camp on tryout deals. Florida Panthers.

New Jersey: James Nichols looks at Mikhail Yegorov who could be New Jersey’s goalie of the future. New Jersey Devils.

Pittsburgh: Talk about rivalries. . . Sidney Crosby has played against Alex Ovechkin 101 times. Dan Kingerski looks at their rivalry. Pittsburgh Penguins.

The post The Daily: Second Tigers Exec May Be in Red Wings Mix; Crosby vs. Ovi — They’ve Played 101 Times appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.