By Jordan Long
The Arizona Coyotes made the surprising move of not bringing back long-term captain and forward Shane Doan. His contract was up after he agreed to a one-year deal last offseason. He was hoping to come back and lead Arizona for another year, possibly his last season in the NHL. Arizona gives him a chance to be a free agent. According to Yahoosports.com, Doan said, “Yeah, it was the owner’s decision. When he got possession of the team … he chose that he wanted to go with the younger group and that me being around might’ve kind of delayed things.”
Doan has played in the NHL since 1995 with one franchise, the Coyotes. He has been their captain for the last 13 years, which made him the longest active tenured one in the NHL. In a Coyotes’ uniform Doan scored 402 goals and added 570 assists for a total of 972 points. He also spent time on the power play and power play kill. Doan scored 128 goals and 185 assists on the power play. He even added 6 short-handed goals.
His production dipped last season with 6 goals, the worst total for him since 1999 when he lit the lamp 6 times. Doan was still productive finding his teammates with 21 assists.
Doan is one of the best players to ever put on a Coyotes’ sweater. He appeared in 2 All-Star games. The only achievement left is for him to lift a Stanley Cup. That wasn’t going to happen in Arizona. The Coyotes are rebuilding and it was time to cut ties with Doan.
Doan is now free to sign with any team starting July 1st. He still has the desire to keep playing hockey. Teams could use him because of his experience, but the downside is his age at 40. Teams might stay away from him because they will want younger players. They may feel he is not worth the risk.
The other option for Doan is to retire. He has scored many goals in the NHL and helped the Coyotes to 9 playoff appearances. Doan’s number will be retired at some point. Doan is going to make the best decision possible for his future.
What do you think of the Arizona Coyotes not bringing Shane Doan back? Where do you think he will land?
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