If you watched hockey in the late 1990s, you probably fondly remember the lead network broadcast teams. On ESPN was the tandem of Gary Thorne and Bill Clement and on Fox was Mike Emrick and John Davidson.
Davidson, now 71, was honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009 with the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for his contributions to broadcasting after serving decades working with the New York Rangers and multiple national television partners for the NHL.
And after a lengthy stint as an executive with the St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Rangers, Davidson is returning to the broadcast booth.
Davidson is currently a senior adviser with the CBJ after two tenures as president of hockey operations from 2012-2019 and 2021-2024. He will substitute for regular analyst Jody Shelley and call Blue Jackets games while Shelley works national broadcasts for Amazon Prime.
Via Aaron Portzline at The Athletic:
Late last month, it was announced that Blue Jackets broadcaster Jody Shelley had been chosen to serve as an analyst for the NHL’s new media partner, Amazon Prime, which will stream an NHL game each Monday through the end of the season. It’s another big stride forward for Shelley, who has been doing NHL national broadcasts for several seasons. The Jackets only have six Monday games all season, so while Shelley’s schedule will be intense — twice already this season he’s had to race back to Columbus across the Canadian border to be in place for a Tuesday broadcast — there shouldn’t be too many scheduling conflicts.
One of those scheduling conflicts occurs this week, however, when the Blue Jackets will play host to the Oilers and Shelley will be in Winnipeg to handle the call between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jets. Who will take Shelley’s spot next to Steve Mears in the FanDuel Sports Network booth? Blue Jackets senior adviser John Davidson, who, of course, was a Hall of Fame broadcaster for many seasons with the New York Rangers on Madison Square Garden Network and on national platforms before moving into an executive role with the St. Louis Blues in 2006. This will be the first of at least a couple of games he fills in for Shelley this season.
Davidson will work alongside new Blue Jackets play by play man Steve Mears who replaced longtime voice of the franchise Jeff Rimer after Rimer retired following the end of last season.
The Blue Jackets entered this season having to deal with the unfathomable tragedy of star player Johnny Gaudreau being killed by a drunk driver while riding a bicycle with his brother during the offseason. While the Jackets were expected to struggle once again this season, they’ve gotten off to a surprising 4-3-1 start including six goal wins at home over the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers.
While Davidson’s executive tenures could not bring success on the ice that Blue Jackets fans were hoping for, it’ll be some good feelings to hear the Hockey Hall of Famer in the broadcast booth once again.
