John Davidson (ice hockey)

For other people named John Davidson, see John Davidson (disambiguation).
John Davidson
Born (1953-02-27) February 27, 1953
Ottawa, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for New York Rangers (NHL)
Springfield Indians (AHL)
New Haven Nighthawks (AHL)
St. Louis Blues (NHL)
Denver Spurs (CHL)
NHL Draft 5th overall, 1973
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 1973–1983

John Davidson (born February 27, 1953 in Ottawa, Ontario), is the president of hockey operations of the Columbus Blue Jackets and a former goaltender for the St. Louis Blues (1973–75) and New York Rangers (1975–83) of the National Hockey League. He is also well known as a long-time hockey broadcaster. On June 4, 2009, it was announced that Davidson would be honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame with the 2009 Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for his contributions to broadcasting.[1]

Biography

Playing career

Growing up in western Canada, he played his minor hockey in Calgary, Alberta. He was drafted fifth overall in 1973, and became the first goalie in NHL history to jump directly from major junior to the NHL. While his hockey career was fraught with many significant injuries, he is perhaps best remembered as a player for leading the Rangers to the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals on an injured left knee. His jersey numbers were 35, 00 and 30.[2] Davidson was the first, and one of only two, NHL players to wear the number 00; after Martin Biron briefly wore the number in 1995, the league banned the use of the number.

Davidson was accidentally the inspiration for the title song of the 1978 hit album Double Vision by the rock group Foreigner. Members of the band were watching a Stanley Cup Playoff game between Davidson's New York Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres. Members of the band were fans of the Rangers. Davidson was shaken up when an unknown member of the Sabres took a hard shot that hit Davidson's goalie mask. As he was recovering, announcers Jim Gordon and Bill Chadwick said Davidson was suffering from "Double Vision."[3][4]

Broadcasting career

After retiring due to injury, he joined MSG's hockey coverage staff in 1983, and was the color commentator for Rangers games from 1986–87 to 2005–06. Davidson, often known by the nickname "J.D.", became one of the most prominent color commentators in the sport, and his hockey insight is so well respected that he currently sits on the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee. Long-time network TV partner Mike Emrick also sits on that committee, and the two shared the 2004 Lester Patrick Trophy for service to hockey in the U.S.[5]

Davidson (like his former MSG Network booth-mates Sam Rosen and Al Trautwig) has also contributed to NHL coverage on various national television networks (including CBC, Fox, ABC, ESPN, NBC and Versus when it was the American version of the Outdoor Life Network (OLN)). The following timeline is a list of all season-long hockey coverage he has done, such as in-game commentary and post-game analysis shows. It does not include special events such as the Winter Olympics or Canada Cup. Davidson was known as a broadcaster for his signature phrase of "Oh baby!" He was also featured in full motion videos shot for the EA Sports video game NHL 97.

NHL on Versus NHL.com NHL on NBC NHL on NBC The NHL on ABC Fox Broadcasting Company The NHL on ABC Hockey Night in Canada Hockey Night in Canada MSG (TV network) MSG (TV network)

Davidson co-authored the book Hockey for Dummies with sportswriter John Steinbreder.

Management career

Davidson was named President of Hockey Operations for the Blues on June 30, 2006. He left the Blues after agreeing to a buyout of his contract on October 9, 2012.[6] He was then named President of Hockey Operations for the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 24, 2012.[7]

Achievements

Playing

Broadcasting

Career statistics

Regular season

Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1969–70 Lethbridge Sugar Kings AJHL — — — — — — — —
1969–70 Calgary Centennials WCHL 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0.00
1970–71 Lethbridge Sugar Kings AJHL 46 — — — 2760 142 3 3.09
1971–72 Calgary Centennials WCHL 66 — — — 3970 157 8 2.37
1972–73 Calgary Centennials WCHL 63 — — — 3735 201 2 3.30
1973–74 St. Louis Blues NHL 39 13 19 7 2300 118 0 3.08
1974–75 St. Louis Blues NHL 40 17 15 7 2360 144 0 3.66
1974–75 Denver Spurs CPHL 7 4 2 1 420 27 0 3.86
1975–76 New York Rangers NHL 56 22 28 5 3207 212 3 3.97
1976–77 New York Rangers NHL 39 14 14 6 2116 125 1 3.54
1976–77 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 2 — — — 119 5 0 2.52
1977–78 New York Rangers NHL 34 14 13 4 1848 98 1 3.18
1978–79 New York Rangers NHL 39 20 12 5 2232 131 0 3.52
1979–80 New York Rangers NHL 41 20 15 4 2306 122 2 3.17
1979–80 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 4 1 3 0 238 16 0 4.02
1980–81 New York Rangers NHL 10 1 7 1 560 48 0 5.14
1981–82 New York Rangers NHL 1 1 0 0 60 1 0 1.00
1981–82 Springfield Indians AHL 8 3 4 0 437 24 0 3.30
1982–83 New York Rangers NHL 2 1 1 0 120 5 0 2.50
NHL totals 301 123 124 39 17,109 1004 7 3.52

Playoffs

Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1970–71 Lethbridge Sugar Kings AJHL 9 — — — 540 23 1 2.56
1970–71 Calgary Centennials WCHL 1 0 0 0 19 1 0 3.16
1971–72 Calgary Centennials WCHL 13 6 6 1 780 39 0 3.00
1971–72 Calgary Centennials M-Cup 2 0 2 — 118 9 0 4.58
1974–75 St. Louis Blues NHL 1 0 1 — 60 4 0 4.00
1977–78 New York Rangers NHL 2 1 1 — 122 7 0 3.44
1978–79 New York Rangers NHL 18 11 7 — 1106 42 1 2.28
1979–80 New York Rangers NHL 9 4 5 — 541 21 0 2.33
1981–82 New York Rangers NHL 1 0 0 — 33 3 0 5.45
NHL totals 31 16 14 — 1862 77 1 2.48

References

  1. ↑ Kreiser, John (June 4, 2009). "Davidson Overwhelmed to be Hall-of-Famer". NHL.com. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  2. ↑ "John Davidson". All Time Roster. New York Rangers. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  3. ↑ John Halligan NY Rangers Website
  4. ↑ John Halligan Blueshirt Bulletin February 2008 issue
  5. ↑ "Lester Patrick Trophy". National Hockey League. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  6. ↑ http://kstp.com/sports/stories/S2794546.shtml?cat=7
  7. ↑ http://bluejacketsxtra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2012/10/25/hes-hired-to-win.html
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