COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the weeks leading up to the 2023-24 season, the Blue Jackets held a private party at a secret, members-only club in Grandview Heights, just a few miles from downtown Columbus.
The party was two or three hours deep and beginning to thin out when young Jet Greaves, then a minor-league goaltender in the Blue Jackets organization, worked up the courage to approach a table where legendary goaltender and broadcaster John Davidson was sitting with his wife, Diana.
“Jet walked up and said, ‘Would you mind if I talked with you for a couple of minutes?’” Davidson remembered.
“So we sat there, the three of us, and we must have talked for 45 minutes. Jet was so interested in some of the NHL’s older goaltenders — Dominik Hasek, Mike Richter, Patrick Roy, that whole generation — and even the generation of goalies before that.
“We had a great discussion. He knew a lot about these guys already, you could tell. He is truly a student of our game, and that became really clear to me that night. And if I’m being honest, I bet I enjoyed our talk probably more than he did.”
That was the first of many in-depth chats between Greaves, now the Blue Jackets’ 24-year-old starting goaltender, and Davidson, the 72-year-old former club president no longer involved in the club’s day-to-day business.
When Davidson fills in for TV analyst Jody Shelley a couple of times per month — next up, Monday’s game in Ottawa — Greaves and Davidson can be found talking at Greaves’ stall along the back wall of the Blue Jackets’ dressing room.
“I’m trying to learn as much as I can from his experiences,” Greaves said. “There’s so much there, so much he’s been through. He had an amazing career, and he’s been around the game for a long time. It’s just … honestly, I just think I’m incredibly fortunate that he’s so willing to share, and I’ve already learned so much.
“There are some things that are unique to the position that probably only goaltenders could discuss. But there are some things I can ask him that would just be good advice to anybody in any profession, really, not just hockey players.”
Jet Greaves is slamming the door early in this one! 🚪 pic.twitter.com/Nc82q9mFrN
— NHL (@NHL) November 22, 2025
If you know Jet Greaves even a little bit, none of this should be a surprise.
Greaves is the rare goaltender who doesn’t mind a game-day conversation in the dressing room. He’s so grounded and so polite — the product of his parents’ upbringing, he said — that he’s been known to thank media members after fielding a series of questions in a post-game scrum.
He reads. He plays chess. He has a natural curiosity. He’s also a massive sports fan. Not just today’s players and highlights, but the history of the games … baseball, basketball, boxing and, of course, hockey.
Greaves grew up in the Toronto suburb of Cambridge, Ont. His step-uncle is former NHL defenseman Jamie Macoun, who spent three years at Ohio State in the early 1980s before an NHL career that including 1,128 games with Calgary, Toronto and Detroit.
When Greaves played junior hockey for Barrie of the Ontario Hockey League, his head coach was Dale Hawerchuk, and his goaltending coach was Billy Smith, both of whom are enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
“Just getting to meet those guys was amazing, and then learning from them on a daily basis was just a whole different level,” Greaves said. “(Hawerchuk) always emphasized studying the game, learning not just how to play the game, but learning about the history of the game, just really, really appreciating how fortunate we are to play it.
“The game may be different now, or played differently now, than it was in previous generations. But there’s still so much you can learn from watching guys from the past. I spent a lot of time growing up watching Henrik Lundqvist, Carey Price, all those guys. Hasek, (Martin) Brodeur. They each had their own different strengths, and so watching each of them was unique. And you could see maybe some little things they do that you can apply to your game.”
Davidson has had an unrivaled hockey career. He was one of the top goaltenders in the game from the early 1970s to the early 1980s, before multiple knee surgeries prematurely ended his career.
Then, for 23 seasons, he was one of the NHL’s most recognizable broadcasters, not just for national broadcasts but as part of the New York Rangers’ broadcast team with play-by-play voice Sam Rosen.
In 2006, Davidson left broadcasting to begin a 20-year career as an NHL executive with St. Louis, the New York Rangers and Columbus. He ceded the club president’s chair but remained an alternate governor when Don Waddell took over as GM two summers ago.
When Rosen, retiring after a 40-year run with the Rangers, came through Columbus last season for the final time, Greaves made it a point to find him in the dressing room before the game. As they talked, Greaves beamed.
“I watched so many Rangers games as a kid because I was a huge Lundqvist fan,” Greaves said. “I told Sam that, too, and I said, ‘I listened to so many of your games. I loved you guys.’ That was awesome. Yeah, a thrill.”
“That was for Johnny, for Johnny Gaudreau.”
John Davidson shares an emotional story about his grandson honoring the fallen @BlueJacketsNHL forward.#CBJ pic.twitter.com/eDnFvuwPwt
— FanDuel Sports Network Columbus (@FanDuelSN_CBUS) October 29, 2024
Greaves and Davidson have talked about the ins and outs of goaltending, but there are only so many similarities between their styles of play.
Davidson, 6-foot-4, would fit right in today, but he was considered a huge goaltender in the 1970s and ’80s. Greaves, 6-foot even, would have fit right in during Davidson’s era, but he’s considered a “small” goaltender in today’s NHL.
“It’s a really different game now, but not in a bad way at all,” Davidson said. “We used to hold our gloves down by our ankles near the ice. Now, these guys are trained to hold it up high, right next to their shoulders. Jet is a battler, though. Guys play for him because they see how well prepared he is and how hard he’s working.”
Greaves stopped 23 of 24 shots on Monday, helping to send the Blue Jackets into the NHL’s holiday break with a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. The Jackets return to practice on Saturday, then return to play Sunday against the New York Islanders at Nationwide Arena.
After starting the season in a back-and-forth rotation with Elvis Merzlikins, it’s been clear for over a month now that Greaves has grabbed the Blue Jackets’ No. 1 job, at least for now. He’s 9-9-5 with a .906 save percentage and 2.69 goals-against average.
“What I like about him — I mean, really like — is he doesn’t get frustrated,” Davidson said. “I think maybe inside he might get upset if he doesn’t feel quite right or something. But you don’t see it on the outside, and I think that’s good.”
It’s unclear if Davidson and Greaves will get a chance to chat ahead of Monday’s game in Ottawa. The Blue Jackets will play at home on Sunday, then fly after the game to Canada’s capital, arriving in the wee hours of Sunday. They may not hold a morning skate before Monday’s game.
They’ll talk soon enough, though.
“I just have so much respect for everything these guys have done for the game,” Greaves said. “It’s almost like you gain even more respect for them the more you get to know them and talk to them. Incredible.
“J.D. has been so kind to me and shared so much information with me. ‘How to handle this situation. What to look for when this happens.’ I’m so blessed to be here (in the NHL) and so fortunate to have great people in my life.”
Greaves has left quite an impression on others, too.
Davidson retired almost 20 years before Greaves was born. There are, sadly, players in the NHL who probably have no idea he once played at a high level or served as a national broadcaster. Davidson may not be involved with the NHL on a daily basis these days, but he still has plenty of energy and plenty to offer, he said.
“I’m happy to help Jet or any of these guys any way I can, of course, and the Blue Jackets have guys all up and down their organization — in Columbus and Cleveland — who can be a real help to players,” Davidson said.
“But I enjoy our chats, I really do. I’ve seen a lot of things and done a lot of things, but I talk to these great young players — and Jet is a wonderful young player — and I get to learn things from them, too. Again, I think the thrill is mine, and I mean that.”
Davidson looked back and chuckled at that first meeting at the private club in Grandview Heights. He walked away impressed by Greaves. He wasn’t the only one.
“My wife, Diana … let me tell ya, she’s a big, big fan of Jet Greaves,” Davidson said. “She just melted for his kindness and his humility and character. Couldn’t say enough about him. And she’s a pretty good judge of character.”