Former Rangers fan favorite joins a new NHL front office

As is the case with every offseason, there is some front office turnover across the NHL. For the New York Rangers, there wasn't much change, other than general manager Chris Drury now reporting to Quentin Dolan after his father, James Dolan, stepped away from the NHL side. But on Monday, there was a surprise name to emerge as a new addition to a front office in New York. And no, it wasn't the Islanders.

On Monday, the Buffalo Sabres officially announced that they hired John Davidson as a senior advisor. Davidson, a fan favorite, had last been with the Rangers from 2019 until 2021 as team president. Before that, Davidson was a beloved part of the color commentary team on MSG Network alongside Sam Rosen.

Former Rangers legend John Davidson emerges as new senior advisor for Sabres

It is going to be weird seeing Davidson in the same state, but on a different team. But given how his exit with the Rangers went down, it's not exactly surprising.

Back in 2019, Davidson was hired to be the team's president, with Jeff Gorton serving as general manager. The duo got off to an immediate start in terms of making a big splash, as they signed Artemi Panarin in free agency to a seven-year, $81.5 million contract. They also made a huge trade with the Winnipeg Jets for defenseman Jacob Trouba, who was later named team captain.

Davidson's run would last around two years, as he was fired by Dolan after the team failed to make the playoffs in 2021, making it the fourth consecutive season they missed out on qualifying. Davidson had expressed patience in the team's long-term vision of building a contender, but Dolan grew impatient, ultimately firing him and Gorton. Drury replaced both. While the Rangers' trips to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022 and 2024 will be credited under Drury, the team is far from those heights, especially these past two seasons.

After his firing, Davidson returned to the Columbus Blue Jackets as president of hockey operations. He would serve in that role until 2024, when Don Waddell replaced Jarmo Kekalainen. Now, Davidson reunites with Kekalainen, who is the general manager for the Sabres. This is a Sabres team that ended their long playoff drought and made it all the way to Game 7 of the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Before his stints as team president and color commentator, Davidson previously was a goalie for the Rangers for eight seasons, posting a 93-90-25 record, a .884 save percentage, and a 3.58 goals allowed average in 222 games (212 starts).

Davidson is back in New York, but with an upstart Sabres team looking to replicate the success they had last season,

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