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Shane Doan has done everything the Arizona Coyotes organization has asked of him and then some, going back to the team’s days as the original Winnipeg Jets. Doan was there when the team moved from Winnipeg to the desert, and has only known one franchise throughout his entire 20-year career.
At age 38 and with the Coyotes facing a major rebuild that will take a few seasons, it could be best for both sides if Doan was traded to a contending team, rather than continue playing for a struggling Coyotes team as his career winds down.
During Doan’s tenure, the team has been at times an absolute trainwreck. There have been ownership problems that had the league operating the team, and relocation rumors were a daily thing. Through it all though, Doan played with reckless abandon and never let the off-ice circus effect his on-ice productivity. Doan twice signed extensions with the team for less than market value and never let the team’s struggles get to him.
His faith was rewarded with exactly two playoff series wins over his 20 years, both coming in 2012 when the upstart Coyotes made a run to the Western Conference Finals.
With Arizona near the bottom of the league standings and Doan having one year left on his contract, it really looks like the time has come for the two sides to move on. Doan has repeatedly said that he has no interest leaving the Valley of the Sun to chase a Stanley Cup elsewhere. The willingness to stay despite the turmoil around him is par for the course for Doan’s career, but the situation has drastically changed.
I applaud Doan for his loyalty. It’s rare in the sports world to see someone stick around over such a long period of time through peaks and valleys. Having said that, the best thing for the Coyotes and Doan is a trade to contender that would bring back assets to accelerate the team’s rebuild and give Doan a chance at skating in his first Stanley Cup Final.
However, if all Doan wants in return for his unparalleled devotion to the Coyotes is to stay put in Phoenix, then the team owes him that much as what he’s done for the franchise cannot be repaid.
