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.

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. 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."

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.

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.

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. He was then named President of Hockey Operations for the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 24, 2012.

Achievements

Playing

• Alberta Junior Hockey League - MVP (1970–71)
• Alberta Junior Hockey League - Best goalie (1970–71)
• Alberta Junior Hockey League - Second team All-Star (1970–71)
• Western Hockey League - MVP (1971–72)
• Western Hockey League - Del Wilson Trophy as best goalie (1971–72)
• Western Hockey League - First team All-Star (1971–73)
• Ranked No. 56 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).

Broadcasting

• CableACE - "Outstanding Live Event Coverage" (1994)
• New York Emmy - "Outstanding On-Camera Achievement" (1995, 2001)
• Lester Patrick Trophy - "Contribution to American hockey" (2004)
• Foster Hewitt Memorial Award; Hockey Hall Of Fame (2009)

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

External links

• JD's official bio
• John Davidson has become his sport's top broadcaster, in part by outworking everybody else
• John Davidson career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database