John Davidson is keeping his toe in the NHL pool, but the longtime executive and former TV ******* yst is no longer with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets' senior adviser since May 2024 and president of hockey operations in two stints before that is now senior adviser for the Buffalo Sabres, who announced the hiring July 13. The move reunites Davidson, 73, with former Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, the Sabres' GM whom Davidson hired for that role in Columbus in 2013.
Davidson also fired Kekalainen on Feb. 15, 2024, after the two signed off on the hiring of Mike Babcock as head coach, a stint that lasted just 78 days after the controversial coach was hired July 1, 2023, to succeed Brad Larsen.
Babcock resigned amid allegations that he violated players' privacy by pressuring them to show him photos on their cellphones. It ultimately led to an investigation by the NHL Players' ******* ociation followed by Kekalainen and Davidson taking the fall, with the former's eventual firing and the latter moving to a senior advisory spot in May 2024 after ******* isting a GM search that led to the Blue Jackets hiring Don Waddell as president/GM.
Davidson's contract ran out June 30.