John Davidson’s return to the NHL front-office grind did not last long. After stepping away from his job in Columbus at the end of June, the veteran executive was back in the mix only a few weeks later, this time in Buffalo after Jarmo Kekäläinen brought him in as a senior advisor in July.
For Davidson, 73, the job has already meant getting around plenty. He’s been at home games, ridden along on road trips and even made the drive east to Rochester for last Friday’s 7-1 win over Syracuse, where he noted, “(Radim) Mrtka played well,”
“It’s a blast,” Davidson said of working in his new role.
That energy comes from decades around the sport. Davidson was a fifth-overall pick by St.
Louis and played 301 games over 10 NHL seasons from 1973 to 1982. He won 123 regular-season games between the Blues and Rangers and helped carry New York to the 1979 Stanley Cup Final.
He later spent two decades as the color commentator on Rangers games on MSG, a run that earned him the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 2009 for outstanding broadcasting careers.
His executive résumé is just as deep. Davidson has been in NHL management since 2006-07, with stops as president of hockey operations in St. Louis and Columbus, president of the Rangers, and senior advisor roles in Columbus and Buffalo.
On Tuesday night in Montreal, he even slipped back into the broadcast chair, joining Brian Duff and Marty Biron on the MSG pregame show. That led to a conversation about Kekäläinen, someone Davidson has worked with since 2006-07, when Davidson was running the show in St. Louis and Kekäläinen was assistant GM handling the draft.
“My wife basically opened the door and said, ‘You better go. Time to go,’” Davidson recalled.
“I said, ‘Okay, I’d love to, that’s cool.’ So, here I am.”
The relationship between the two men has made the setup in Buffalo a natural one. Davidson described it as an open arrangement where his job is to give advice when asked - and sometimes before he’s asked.
“If he asks, I tell him. Sometimes I say some things before he asks - can’t help myself - but it’s a blast,” Davidson said.
Biron also asked Davidson what Kekäläinen is like away from the public eye, and Davidson pointed to a calm but direct style.
“He doesn’t show emotions when he gets angry, but it’s usually very measured,” Davidson said. “An example was the other night when we lost at home (vs.
Utah) and we weren’t very good. Jarmo was upset, which he should be.
You don’t want to get into a funk too long at this time of the year. Had some meetings with everybody.
And that’s how it should be: bite it and tear it off right away.”
“… He’s the boss - that’s just it, that’s all there is to it - and I’ve enjoyed working with him all these years.”
Buffalo’s 3-3-1 start has given Davidson plenty to evaluate, and he doesn’t buy the idea that urgency should wait until later in the season. He’s seen how quickly a team can fall out of position, and he believes this front office - Kekäläinen, himself, Marc Bergevin and Josh Flynn - has the right mix to help the Sabres sort it out.
“I’ve been through a lot of different things when we tried to rebuild St. Louis, Columbus, New York for a while,” Davidson said.
“I know how quickly you can be out of it. That’s the hard part, and that’s why you have to get after it.
You can’t let it fester and hope it’s going to get better; you’ve got to go down there and help it get better.”
Even with the uneven results, Davidson likes what he sees on the ice. In his view, Buffalo can be a dangerous team when it’s moving the puck and playing with pace.
“This is a club that, man alive, this is fun to watch when this club’s going,” he said. “… This team, it’s electric to watch when they turn the puck up ice quick and scoring chances and things along those lines.
It’s a blast. I’m having the time of my life.”
In Other News...
Sabres Open Road Trip With A Dahlin Problem Ruff Must Solve
Buffalos road trip opens with a lineup wrinkle that lands squarely on the blue line. Rasmus Dahlin is day-to-day, and the Sabres are heading out without their top defenseman as the trip begins, leaving Lindy Ruff with an early personnel decision to sort through before the games start to stack up.
For a team already trying to settle into the rhythm of life away from home, Dahlins absence changes the look and feel of the defense group right away. Ruff has to manage the opening leg without one of his most important players traveling with the team, and the next update on Dahlin will shape how Buffalo handles the rest of the trip. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Nearly Stole A Point Despite A Growing Problem
Even with Rasmus Dahlin out injured and Matt Grzelcyk on injured reserve, the Sabres found a way to push Montreal all the way to a shootout. Olen Zellweger gave Buffalo a jolt with two goals, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen turned aside 35 shots, and a game that could have slipped away turned into a night where the Sabres were close enough to steal a point.
The bigger concern, though, is how often Buffalo is having to patch together its blue line just to stay afloat. The Canadiens took control in the second period before the Sabres battled back to force overtime, but the defensive absences have become hard to ignore, especially with another roster move needed to cover the gap and keep the group functional. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Injury Uncertainty Is Starting To Put Real Pressure On Buffalo
The Sabres early-season juggling act got a little more complicated this week, with head coach Lindy Ruff offering no significant update on Rasmus Dahlin after the defensemans upper-body injury. Buffalo has already had to lean on lineup changes throughout its 3-3-1 start, and the absence of one of its most important blue-line pieces only adds to the uncertainty around a team still trying to settle in.
The injury list is not easing up, either. Goalie Alex Lyon has hit a slight setback and will be off the ice for a few days, while Tyson Kozak has been sent back to Buffalo for further evaluation, leaving the Sabres to keep adjusting on the fly as the schedule moves on. For a club that has been trying to build some rhythm, the constant shuffling is starting to feel like more than just a short-term inconvenience. [Read more 🡒]