Neil Glasberg, Founder/President at The Coaches Agency, joined First Up to discuss his involvement in the Maple Leafs’ executive search and the team’s ultimate decision to hire John Chayka as General Manager.
You went from working with Evander Holyfield to now representing many high-profile people in the NHL and being part of the search for the Maple Leafs‘ GM. Take us through how everything has come to be for Neil Glasberg.
Glasberg: It has been an interesting ride from those days with Holyfield. There is a lot to unpack.
Let’s talk about the search because I think that is of the most timely relevance. It was an incredible exercise we went through, trying to figure out who the next GM of the Leafs was going to be. We exhausted the universe of candidates, as you can imagine. Very high-profile job. A lot of alumni interest.
I was amazed, actually, at the number of Leafs alumni that reached out and said they wanted to be a part of the process. I thought it was really genuine and really cool that the guys who bleed Leafs blood really wanted to add value.
The unfortunate thing is that we have lots of people and one job. Without getting into too many details, but just high-level, I think the message I want to send is that I spoke to north of 25 people. Of course, we didn’t formally interview 25 people, but we gave everybody an opportunity who we thought had some ability to add value.
A lot of people were curious about how the process worked. Keith Pelley was talking about the general manager search and what they were looking for in hiring a consultancy, which is where you came in. How did it work between you and Pelley in conjunction with speaking to candidates? Did you do the calls and interviews together, or did you do the interviews and then send them to Pelley afterward?
Glasberg: Great question, and there is no real simple answer. There were a lot of people reaching out to Keith, and Keith was forwarding them to me. As you can imagine, these searches take a ton of time.
The value in the search is the educational component—what you learn from people. These are people who are interviewing for the job who say, “This is what I can bring. This is what I can do.”
Between the two of us, we actually talked to everybody. As I said, some people had more formal interviews. Other people had more casual interviews. At the end of the day, you have to pare down your list to a manageable number.
In the final stages of the process, did you hand over four candidates or a couple of candidates and say, “These are your best options,” and they choose? Or was it a combined effort?
Glasberg: Everything was a combined effort. I wasn’t a part of the (final) decision, obviously. My job is to bring the best candidates forward and get everybody ready for the interviews.
At the end of the day, I want everybody to look great. I want everybody to go in with the same agenda, so to speak. What they want to do individually is their call, but I wanted everybody to be ready to answer the questions to the best of their ability. It was a collaborative effort.
There was a committee. It wasn’t just Keith and me. There was a committee of three people running this for MLSE. I was the search guy. I was the, “Here is who I think we should seriously consider, and here is why.”
When trying to evaluate who you think would be a good fit, how do you go about doing it? You have vast connections throughout the NHL.
Glasberg: The element of involvement in the search is really circumstantial. I know it is a lot of words, and it is not word salad. It really is.
There are a lot of different things we looked at along the way. These were the sixth and seventh searches that I’ve done in the NHL. I have been involved in various different parts of the process with a bunch of other teams.
At the end of the day, it really comes down to looking at the universe of candidates and understanding who has the best skill set and who is the best fit — that is the word I use all the time (fit). There are a lot of people who have the competencies, but the fit may not be there. It is not an age thing or anything; there were a lot of experienced guys that the Leafs spoke to.
Is it the case that Pelley tells you what he is looking for, and you find the fits?
Glasberg: The committee really opined on who they thought would be the best person. I mean, this is a tough market to be in, as everyone knows. The media is diligent. There is a lot of “answering to the media”; I hate that expression, and I put it in quotes, but you have to be able to stand up and speak about who you are.
That is the one thing about John. Not to give him a plug, but John is very smart and very good with the media. He tells it like it is. There is no BS. There is no trying to figure out what the message is. I think that was a huge, huge selling factor in terms of the proper fit.
You were part of the process for both the hiring of the GM and the head coach. Was the evaluation process similar for both situations, or were they different?
Glasberg: I was way more involved in the GM. I was really in the trenches on the GM search. In the head coaching search, I was more behind the scenes.
It was really John and Mats who were going through the interviews and deciding (on the coach). At the end of the day, I had done head-coaching searches before, but those two are the ones who have to live with the guy day in and day out. That is where the rubber hits the road.
My involvement was not nearly as extensive as it was on the GM.
The Toronto media was heavily criticizing Keith Pelley for his hiring of Chayka. At least to this point, Leafs Nation has generally been very positive. Winning the lottery really helps.
Glasberg: 12 is my new favourite number.
It is amazing how that changed everything for the Leafs. Everything has fas fallen into place since. It must make your job a little easier.
Glasberg: I wonder if the #12 is going to be a retired number on the Leafs…
Stuff seems to have just fallen into place. I was thrilled for them when it happened.
This morning, I was looking at the roster last year and the roster this year. It is unbelievable how different it looks, and it is exciting. There is a positive vibe around: “Hey, they’re making positive changes. They’re not making change for change’s sake, but they want to make this a better team.”
It is exciting times around Leafs Nation. I am actually really looking forward to this year.
As a Montreal guy, is your Montreal Canadiens fandom something you carry through this job? That might’ve been challenging.
Glasberg: It’s so funny. In this business I’m in now, I’ve got guys on 27 or 28 teams, or whatever it is. Watching a game with me is painful because it is not necessarily the same team I want to win. It is the business side, right? I am horrible to watch a game with.
Obviously, I cheer on my clients. Yes, I grew up in Montreal as a Habs fan, but I have to tell you I am the number-one fan in Leafs Nation right now. It has been a life-changing event for me.
Your agency was receiving tons of calls from the media. Your name became talked about so much as far as, “Who is Neil Glasberg, and why is he running this search?” It must’ve been quite the whirlwind.
Glasberg: It has been really fun, but I have to tell you — in the people I meet, I am not feeling pressure with this, but I am feeling pressure I put on myself. I obviously supported the decision. It doesn’t go without its share of responsibility, which is fine.
