The Columbus Blue Jackets are the laughing stock of the league (assuming we still have a league after the owners and players are done attempting to destroy it). They are the team that supposedly made one of the coups of last summer by trading for Jeff Carter, only to see him beg off the team from day one. The team that made the Rick Nash ordeal…well an ordeal. The team that even when they score what most call a can’t miss, they manage to miss.

Well not anymore. Yesterday, Columbus made a move that should change all of this. After a summer of talk (because nothing happens quickly in Columbus), the Blue Jackets hired long time player, Hall of Fame announcer and ex-St. Louis Blues executive John Davidson as president of hockey operations.

“This is a very exciting day for the Columbus Blue Jackets and our fans as John Davidson is a proven winner who brings a tremendous amount of experience, knowledge and leadership to our organization,” said Blue Jackets Majority Owner John P. McConnell. “We believe he is the perfect person to lead our hockey operations efforts.”

He is also going to be an alternate governor on the NHL’s Board of Governors.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is the best move in their short franchise history. (Unless you count finally letting go of players who were begging not to be there.)

After building up St. Louis to what it is now in only a couple of years JD, as he is known as, said he plans to do the same in Columbus.

“That’s how you build a team, gang,” Davidson said. “You build it one brick at a time. One brick at a time is the only way to go, and that’s what’s going to happen here.”

“The fans are going to see the players grow, and they’re going to grow with them,” Davidson said. “I’m not going to put a number on it; it’s going to take time. But we’re going to get there. And it’s going to be a really good hockey club as we march along.”

It definitely will take time but if anyone is up to the task, it is JD. Personally I wanted him to come back to New York whether it was in broadcasting or management, but this position with this team is the perfect role for him. He will make Columbus a contender before he leaves. It won’t happen overnight but I will be absolutely shocked if we talk about the Blue Jackets in five years like we do now.

You can read more about his hiring and what others are saying about the hiring here, here, here and here.