By Jordan Long
The Arizona Coyotes re-signed captain Shane Doan earlier this week. The deal is a base salary of $2.5 million and it could be worth $5 million with incentives. This will mark Doan’s 21st season with the Coyotes.
Doan had an outstanding season last year, recording 28 goals and 19 assists for a total of 47 points. Even with those numbers, Arizona missed the playoffs with a record of 35-40-7 for 77 points. Once the season was over, the Coyotes gave him time to figure out what he wanted to do. He could have retired but decided to come back for one more year.
According to NHL.com, Doan said, “I’m happy to sign for another year. I’m very excited about the players we added this summer and all of the talent we have on our roster. I’m really looking forward to the upcoming season.”
This is an interesting decision for Doan. He is one of the best skaters ever to have put on a Coyotes uniform. Doan has 396 goals and 549 assists for a total of 945 points. He was voted into the NHL All-Star game twice. The only thing missing from his resume is a Stanley Cup. The Coyotes haven’t been to the playoffs since the 2012 season when they lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Los Angeles Kings. That was the closest Doan has come to appearing in the Stanley Cup Final.
Doan felt coming back was the right decision. The Coyotes core is young, but according to ESPN, Doan stated, “With a young group, it’s easy to be the old guy nagging, kind of pointing things out all the time, but our young guys were always respectful and eager to listen, want to listen. That makes it fun.”
Doan can still play at a high level and is a big part of the Coyotes offense. Doan can score on the power play. Last season he had a total of 10 power play goals. Doan can also light the lamp at full strength. Doan may not be a fast skater, like he was a few years ago, but he can set up his teammates. The Coyotes are lucky to have a leader on the team. The team though must buy into what Doan is teaching them. They could end up going to the playoffs. To me though, this team is not built to go far in the playoffs, let alone win a Stanley Cup. It could be another long year for Doan but at least he is loyal, staying with the franchise that drafted him.
What do you think of Shane Doan’s decision to come back to the Arizona Coyotes?
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