Potential conflict of interest surfaces in Philadelphia Flyers’ executive search
An apparent conflict of interest has surfaced as the Philadelphia Flyers conduct searches for their next president of hockey operations and general manager.
The Flyers are at least the second NHL team to officially hire Neil Glasberg of PBI Sports as a consultant to help conduct the search – while Glasberg also concurrently represents team executives and head coaches as their agent, who may be candidates for open positions.
The Flyers and the NHL, when asked about the apparent conflict of interest by Daily Faceoff, said they did not believe there was an issue. But multiple coaches currently working in the NHL expressed their concerns with Glasberg’s involvement.
“How could there not be a conflict of interest? This guy has skin in the game on who gets hired where, either directly or indirectly,” one current NHL coach said. “Let’s say a person gets hired who isn’t a Glasberg client. Will he be pressured at some point to hire one of his guys?”
“There’s a reason why the NHLPA has a rule in place where agents are not allowed to represent both players and coaches or managers,” another current NHL coach told Daily Faceoff. “You can’t sit on both sides of the table. That’s not right.”
The Flyers organization says former Philadelphia 76ers GM Billy King’s Modern Executive Solutions is exclusively tasked with identifying and bringing in candidates, that Glasberg is not responsible for sourcing candidates and will not be party to the ultimate decision. Instead, the Flyers say Glasberg is being paid to “offer us insights” and provide an additional voice in the process.
The Flyers say they are “well aware” of Glasberg’s client list and “understand the situation.”
“We are aware of the relationship and we have no concerns based on what we know,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly wrote in an email to Daily Faceoff this week when asked about Glasberg’s involvement.
When contacted for comment on Wednesday, Glasberg accused Daily Faceoff of “having an ulterior motive” for asking about the apparent conflict of interest. Glasberg alleged that this reporter was only asking the question “because I didn’t feed you information on the Anaheim [Ducks] search” and threatened to expose text message conversations. There is nothing to expose; Daily Faceoff contacted Glasberg for comment in Feb. 2022 about the Ducks search to ask about the apparent conflict of interest then.
“There won’t be any comment from me,” Glasberg said. “You can decide on any kind of conflict, I’m not going down that page. There’s nothing for me to say.”
When asked why Glasberg felt it was proper to be hired as a consultant in a search where clients or close connections of clients may be candidates, Glasberg bristled.
“You have no [bleeping] clue,” Glasberg said. “You’re making something out of nothing. You should quit while you’re ahead. Learn how to read between the lines.”
When asked about his qualifications to serve as consultant to an NHL search, Glasberg touted his “vast connections” throughout the league, saying that he “speaks with a lot of people in very powerful positions on a daily basis.”
According to his website and LinkedIn profile, Glasberg had no hockey experience prior to when he began representing coaches in contract negotiations in 2008. Glasberg, who is not an attorney, worked as a business leader in various financial and automotive industries for 24 years before becoming an “executive coach.”
In 2017, Glasberg created The Coaches Agency, which he terms as a “sister company” to PBI Sports & Entertainment, which he wrote, “has become one of the largest coach agencies in the world.” The goal of The Coaches Agency is written to “add value to pro team owners and school presidents in sourcing the best team managers, team managers in hiring the best coaches, and head coaches in securing the best assistant coaches.”
In other words, despite creating a separate corporate entity to potentially evade the apparent conflict of interest, Glasberg acknowledges publicly that he both represents coaches and assists in sourcing jobs. Glasberg is listed as the founder and president/CEO for both companies.
Prospective and former clients say Glasberg charges an up-front retainer of $2,500 or $5000 USD per year, plus a percentage of any contract he negotiates for a client.
Glasberg’s current clients include Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, New York Rangers coach Gerard Gallant, Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford and former Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman.
Glasberg’s clients and former clients have landed jobs in searches Glasberg has been party to from the inside.
The Flyers acknowledged they retained Glasberg’s services for their recent head coaching vacancy, which went to John Tortorella. Tortorella is a former Glasberg client. Glasberg did not have any prior connection to Pat Verbeek, who was hired as part of the Anaheim search.
But Rutherford hired Glasberg in May 2021 to represent him for potential NHL management opportunities. Sources say Glasberg advised Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini on his search and Rutherford was hired by the Canucks on Dec. 9, 2021, four days after former GM Jim Benning was fired.
In addition to Sullivan, Glasberg effectively represents the entire Penguins’ coaching staff with Mike Vellucci and Todd Reirden also listed as clients. Sources say Glasberg has recently angled with Fenway Sports Group to participate in filling the Penguins’ front office vacancies.