The Buffalo Sabers are hiring Columbus Blue Jackets’ John Davidson as a consultant
John Davidson is keeping his toes in the NHL pool, but the longtime manager and TV analyst is no longer with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets’ general counsel since May 2024 and president of hockey operations two terms before that is now the general counsel of the Buffalo Sabres, who announced the hiring July 13. The move joins Davidson, 73, with former Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, the Sabres’ GM whom Davidson hired for that role in 2013 in Columbus.
February 15, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets president John Davidson speaks at a press conference after firing general manager Jarmo Kekalainen at Nationwide Arena.
Davidson also fired Kekalainen on Feb. 15, 2024, after the two signed off on the hiring of Mike Babcock as head coach, a period that lasted 78 days after the controversial coach was hired on July 1, 2023, to replace Brad Larsen.
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Babcock resigned amid allegations that he violated players’ privacy by forcing them to show him pictures on their cellphones. It eventually led to an investigation by the NHL Players’ Association followed by Kekalainen and Davidson to take the fall, culminating in the firing of the latter who eventually moved on to an advisory position in May 2024 after assisting in the GM search that led to the hiring of the Blue Jackets Don Waddell as president/GM.
Davidson’s contract expires on June 30.
“He did a great thing for this organization for many years, and we thank him, obviously, for his work and dedication because he was here, coming out again and again, twice,” said Waddell. “So, when we decided not to renew his contract, he got a new opportunity and that’s good for him.”
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Along with his role as senior advisor, Davidson returned to the broadcast scene two seasons ago, filling the role of in-game commentator during the TV broadcasts that Blue Jackets analyst and former player Jody Shelley missed while working national games in Canada.
Davidson originally joined the Blue Jackets on Oct. 24, 2012, as the franchise’s first hockey president and remained in that role until May 17, 2019, when he returned to his roots with the New York Rangers in the same role as team president. Davidson, a former NHL goaltender who played for the Rangers, also began his popular TV broadcasting career in New York.
Blue Jackets President of Hockey Operations John Davidson speaks to the media during Media Day at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on September 21, 2021.
After deciding to leave the TV booth, Davidson joined St. Louis Blues on June 30, 2006, as president of hockey operations and held that role until his contract was purchased on October 9, 2012, 12 days before he agreed to run the hockey side of the Blue Jackets.
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After the Rangers’ shocking decision to fire Davidson and former GM Jeff Gorten on May 5, 2021, in the midst of a successful rebuild, the Blue Jackets brought Davidson back to Columbus on May 20, 2021, with a five-year deal to resume his role as president of hockey.
Dispatch Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be accessed at bhedger@dispatch.com
This article first appeared in The Columbus Dispatch: Buffalo Sabers hire Columbus Blue Jackets John Davidson as consultant.
