John Davidson Appointed New Columbus Blue Jackets Hockey Operations President -NHL Update
A breakthrough for the Columbus Blue Jackets came around on Wednesday, October 24, 2012, as the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise made the appointment of veteran executive, John Davidson, official as the club’s new President of Hockey Operations.
Davidson, a former top level executive of the St. Louis Blues who held the same position there, resigned recently and has now reportedly signed on to a multiyear contract with the Columbus club.
"This is a very happy day for our family," Davidson said during a press conference at Nationwide Arena. "I've been very impressed by what I've seen here from the organization to the facilities, the city, and an ownership and management group that is committed
to building a winner. As we looked at everything it became very clear that this was a perfect fit for us and we are proud to be Columbus Blue Jackets."
He was learnt to have been in contact with Columbus owner John P. McConnell, who is working hard to turnaround the performance of one of the lowest ranked clubs in the league. Reports intensified after he left the Blues organisation and let the media know
that he, indeed was in talks with McConnell and could very well be making the move anytime soon.
Experts are terming the signing to be extremely valuable for the Blue Jackets as he was a major reason why the Blues went from being one of the worst, to one of the best in a matter of a few season.
"J.D. changed the culture in St. Louis," Keith Tkachuk, a forward with the Blues from 2000-10, told The Columbus Dispatch. "I don't want to say he did it immediately, because he's a patient guy. He does it the right way. But he makes everybody accountable
on and off the ice, especially in the way you carry yourself.”
For Davidson, the Blue Jackets are much better off than the Blues were when he joined them a few seasons back, giving Columbus fans a lot of hope and optimism for the future and finally making a comeback to the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It will definitely be interesting to see how John Davidson manoeuvres in his new position and turns the Blue Jackets into a different team.
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