Davidson returns to Blue Jackets as president, has Quinn on coach list
Gets five-year contract after fired by Rangers, GM Kekalainen signs extension
The 68-year-old received a five-year contract. He held those titles with the Blue Jackets from Oct. 24, 2012 through May 17, 2019, when he resigned to take on the roles with the New York Rangers.
"This is something that came together rather quickly," Davidson said Thursday. "I've been gone two seasons but it doesn't feel like two seasons because both were interrupted. It felt like we didn't leave. We hadn't left. It was a very easy feeling to get back into the chair."
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen signed a contract extension through the 2024-25 season.
"John Davidson and Jarmo Kekalainen worked tirelessly and effectively together to transform our hockey club from a team with one Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance in 12 seasons to one that reached the postseason five times in seven years from 2013-20," Blue Jackets president Mike Priest said.
"This is an important time for our organization, and having stability and proven leadership at the top of our hockey operations department is critical for us to do what we want to do, which is bring a Stanley Cup championship to Columbus. Signing Jarmo to an extension and then bringing J.D. back gives us the right people to address the opportunities and challenges before us, and we couldn't be more excited."
The Rangers fired Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton on May 5, replacing them with Chris Drury, who was promoted to the jobs of president and GM.
"It was disappointing," Davidson said. "I think I have every right to say that. I will say that [Rangers owner James] Dolan and I had some conversations. I want to be as respectful as I can. I don't want to get into private discussions between Mr. Dolan and myself. All I can say is that changes were made. I'm very, very happy to be in Columbus.
"Once things went in a different direction in New York, [I] talked to a lot of different people and a lot of them said take your time, to go on holidays, go to Europe, don't rush anything, and the phone started to ring, and a few days ago Mike and I had a discussion."
Priest said it didn't take him long to reach out to Davidson.
"When this (firing) happened, Jarmo and I were meeting the same day or the day after on some other hockey things," Priest said. "We commented, as did most of the hockey world at that time, somewhat shocked by the news. Jarmo and I just chatted, reminisced a little bit about how well it worked, the relationship, how everybody stayed in touch with one another. It came to mind very quickly."
Davidson hired Kekalainen as Blue Jackets GM on Feb. 13, 2013.
"We share a passion for hockey," Kekalainen said. "We watch hockey all day. It's a lifestyle. We have many discussions in the office. We've had several conversations already. He's well informed already. These conversations go on every day, or several times a day these last two or three days. He's an experienced voice in that conversation now."
The Blue Jackets on May 9 announced that coach John Tortorella would not return after six seasons. Columbus (18-26-12) was tied with the Detroit Red Wings for last in the eight-team Discover Central Division. It was the first time the Blue Jackets missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2015-16, Tortorella's first season.
Davidson said David Quinn, who was fired as Rangers coach May 12, will be considered by the Blue Jackets. Rick Tocchet, who did not return as Arizona Coyotes coach after four seasons, is among other coaches available, along with Gerard Gallant and Claude Julien.
"We'd be negligent if we didn't have everybody out there that's a possible head coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets and left him off the list," Davidson said of Quinn. "Everybody's on the list. We're going to sit down and review that. Jarmo, with the staff, myself, will do the interview process. That's part of what you do. David Quinn is a great person. He did a nice job in New York and certainly his name will be on the list with a lot of others.
"We're going to put together a coaching staff. We're going to have lots of energy. We're going to go forward with big smiles on our faces and we're going to get back to doing some winning. That's what it's all about."
The Blue Jackets made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in four of seven seasons with Davidson as president from 2012-19. They won a playoff series for the first time in 2019, a four-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round before a six-game loss to the Boston Bruins in the second round.
"This is a much more established franchise," Davidson said. "Look at the number of core players that we have. I like them, for sure. I see young players that are here that have great futures, and I know that in the upcoming draft we have three picks in the first round. That's a lot of good stuff to jump into again and get it going."
The Rangers were 64-51-11 in two seasons with Davidson as president. They reached the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers last season and were swept in three games by the Carolina Hurricanes.
New York finished fifth in the eight-team MassMutual East Division this season. The top four teams in the division qualified for the playoffs.
Davidson was president of hockey operations for the St. Louis Blues from 2006-12. While there, the Blues drafted key members of their 2019 Stanley Cup championship team, including forwards David Perron, Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz, defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko and goalie Jordan Binnington.
A former goalie who played 10 NHL seasons from 1973-83 with the Blues and Rangers, Davidson was a broadcaster before becoming an NHL executive and won the Foster Hewitt Award presented by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009 for his contributions to broadcasting.
NHL.com independent correspondent Craig Merz contributed to this report
