The Buffalo Sabres have brought John Davidson into the front office as a senior advisor, adding another veteran voice to a staff that already includes plenty of NHL experience.
The club announced the move Monday afternoon. Davidson, 73, has spent the last 20 years working in NHL front offices, with 18 seasons in president of hockey operations roles across three organizations: the St. Louis Blues from 2006 to 2012, the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2012 to 2019 and again from 2021 to 2024, and the New York Rangers from 2019 to 2021.
His arrival also reconnects him with Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, a familiar partnership from both St. Louis and Columbus. Davidson was the one who hired Kekalainen as Blue Jackets GM in 2014, after Kekalainen had been serving as an assistant GM with the Blues.
“I am thrilled to welcome John Davidson to the Sabres as a senior advisor,” Kekalainen said in a statement on Monday. “John and I have a strong working relationship that we have developed over many years.
His experience leading multiple organizations, combined with his player evaluation skills and relationships around the NHL, make him a great fit for this role. He will lend his expertise and guidance to all areas within the hockey department as we aim to continue to improve our club.”
Before he became a front-office fixture, Davidson was a goaltender who played 301 NHL games over parts of 10 seasons with the Blues and Rangers from 1973-74 through 1982-83. He is one of only two players in NHL history to wear jersey No. 00.
After retiring because of injury in 1983, Davidson moved straight into broadcasting with MSG Network. He spent 1986 to 2006 as Sam Rosen’s primary color analyst for Rangers games and became a fan favorite around the league.
He was on the call when the Rangers ended their 54-year Stanley Cup drought in 1994, and later said he’d “seen it all” after Marek Malik’s memorable shootout goal at Madison Square Garden. Davidson received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 2009.
He left the booth in 2006 to return to the Blues as team president, helping guide the early stages of the club’s rise that carried through much of the 2010s. After leaving St. Louis in 2012, he joined the Blue Jackets that same year, briefly moved to the Rangers in 2019, and then went back to Columbus in 2021.
Buffalo has been one of the NHL’s busiest teams this offseason after snapping a 15-year playoff drought in the spring. Davidson becomes the third executive with NHL general manager experience in the Sabres’ front office, alongside Kekalainen and Marc Bergevin.
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