Overview
- The Buffalo Sabres announced on Monday, July 13, 2026, that John Davidson has joined the club as a senior advisor and will provide guidance across the hockey department.
- Davidson, 73, brings roughly 20 years of NHL front-office experience and 18 seasons as a president of hockey operations with St. Louis, Columbus and the New York Rangers.
- The hire reunites Davidson with GM Jarmo Kekäläinen, whom Davidson previously hired in Columbus, and makes Davidson the third executive in Buffalo's hockey operations with prior GM experience alongside Kekäläinen and Marc Bergevin.
- Davidson helped oversee Columbus’s most successful stretch, including four straight playoff berths and a franchise-record 108 points in 2016–17, but his recent second stint in Columbus included a demotion after a troubled period that featured the controversial Mike Babcock coaching hire.
- The Sabres hope Davidson's player-evaluation skills and NHL relationships will help address clear roster needs — notably the club’s unsettled goaltending situation — and preserve the gains of their 2026 breakout season.