Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan has been going back and forth on whether he is retiring or staying in NHL for another year.
“I love the game. I love to play, and I want to keep playing,” Doan said after the 2016-2017 season finale against the Minnesota Wild.
Doan has been the face of the franchise as he has been with the Jets/Coyotes franchise all 21 seasons and has been captain for 14 consecutive seasons and holds almost every record the franchise has with the most goals (402), assists (570), points (972) and games played (1540).
He helped the Coyotes reach their only Western Conference Finals appearance back in 2012, but the Coyotes haven’t made the playoffs since.
Doan usually consults with his family before making a decision. “Two weeks ago, there was no way I was retiring,” Doan said. “Five days ago, I definitely was. Two days ago, I definitely wasn’t.” It’s clear that Doan is still unsure of what he plans to do, but what is for certain is that his presence is felt throughout the organization.
“Without his presence in the locker room and on the ice, it will be difficult,” Coyotes ex-goalie Mike Smith said. “It will be a challenge for the leadership group to try to fill his shoes. It’s impossible to do that, but if he does not come back, there will obviously be a huge void there.”
His leadership skills have proven his worth as he makes 5.3 million. There are many possibilities for Doan next season, but after 21 seasons with the Coyotes it appears he will not be wearing a coyote on his jersey anymore.
In a recent press release, it was announced that John Chayka will not be resigning Doan. “After serious consideration, we have decided to not offer Shane Doan a contract for the upcoming season.” Chayka said, “The time has come for us to move on and to focus on our young, talented group of players and our very bright future.”
So, after 21 seasons with the same franchise, the Coyotes are officially parting ways with Shane. Is this the end of his career or will he sign with another team?
As of early August, the free agent Right Winger still remains unsigned. Could this be the end of his career?
After hearing the news about Doan and the Coyotes parting ways, fans erupted in fury. The full-time owner of the Arizona Coyotes, Anthony Barroway, regrets how he handled the situation. He stated that he wishes he would do it over again in a different way.
He said, “Do I wish it would have been handled differently? Yes I do. Do I wish Shane would have retired at the end of last year? Yes. That’s his decision, and the mistake I made was I should have flown across the country to tell Shane this personally. That was my bad.”
Although being the franchises’ best player, it wasn’t enough to keep him on the roster.
“Our job is to put the best team we can on the ice to win,” he said. “This is not about lovable losers in Arizona, who put out people who they like and they skate around and lose with dignity. We’re here to win. It’s a cultural change, and putting Shane Doan on the ice was not the right way to generate victories for us in this upcoming season.” Barroway said.
