After a negotiation that dragged on a bit and despite interest from other teams, Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan will remain with the only NHL franchise he has ever played for according to Craig Morgan of ArizonaSports.com. Per the report, Doan signed a one-year deal believed to have a $2.5 million base salary with the possibility of rising to $5 million in total value after bonuses. The 2016-17 season will be Doan's 21st with the franchise.
Having been around long enough to have started his career when the franchise was still playing in Winnipeg as the first iteration of the Jets, it's hardly a surprise to see Doan re-sign. It was a little surprising that it took this long after Doan revealed he planned to play next season. There appeared to be disparity between what the two sides thought the veteran winger was worth, but that is obviously resolved now.
Doan, who will turn 40 just before next season begins, is coming off of one of the best years of his career. He led the Coyotes with 28 goals, which matches the third-highest goal total of his career. He finished third on the team with 47 points.
The fact that he is still the face of the franchise and will be going into his 13th year as the team's captain, on top of his performance last season, means he still has a lot of value for this team. The Coyotes are transitioning though. They have a new front office structure and many of their more important players are still learning on the job. Having a veteran like Doan to help shepherd in the new era of Coyotes hockey should be good for both sides. Perhaps there will be a management job waiting for him when he's finally ready to hang them up.
By playing into his 21st season with the same team, Doan will become just the ninth NHL player to hit that mark (according to the AP). Of those nine, Doan is one of only five to have spent the entirety of his career with one team, assuming he finishes the season with Arizona. That exclusive club includes Alex Delvecchio (24 seasons) and Steve Yzerman (22 seasons) of the Detroit Red Wings, Stan Mikita (22 seasons) of the Chicago Blackhawks and George Armstrong (21 seasons) of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The eight players to have spent at least 21 seasons with one team all have reached the Hockey Hall of Fame. While that is a less likely distinction for Doan, his decision to remain with the same team faced challenges none of his predecessors did.
First off, he survived one relocation as he played his rookie season as a Winnipeg Jet before growing into one of the Coyotes' top players over the years. In the years since the team moved, it has faced boatloads of uncertainty. Ownership problems wouldn't even begin to describe the Coyotes' existence in the recent past. The period where the NHL had assumed control of the team could have been disastrous and there were so many different instances where it looked like someone would swoop in to buy the Coyotes only to have it fall through. Finally, the team has found some stability with their current ownership group, which remains committed to keeping the team in Arizona.
On top of the ownership struggles, the team hasn't always performed all that well on the ice. They've made the playoffs only four times in the last 15 years. The highlight was a trip to the Western Conference Final in 2011-12 when the Coyotes lost to eventual champion Los Angeles Kings and they haven't been back since.
Not only that, but Doan obviously had to maintain a certain level of play for the team to want to keep him around. He's never been one of the best players in the league, but he's always been pretty good for the Coyotes. They never had a reason to discard him.
With his career reaching its final years -- 2016-17 very well could be the last for all we know -- he is running out of time for a Stanley Cup. The Coyotes don't look terribly close to one now, either. No one would have faulted Doan for chasing a title, but he stuck it out in the desert. That's pretty remarkable. Perhaps the youthful Coyotes can pull off some surprises this year and make 2016-17 fun for their soon-to-be 40-year-old captain.
