Forward Shane Doan of the Arizona Coyotes
has decided to hang up the skates on his NHL career after more than two decades
in the world’s best hockey league. The 40-year-old may not be completely done
with hockey though. There’s always a chance the former Arizona captain could
suit up for Canada at the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Doan,
who hails from Halkirk, Alberta, was one of the few players to spend an entire
20-plus year career with just one franchise. He was drafted seventh overall by
the original Winnipeg Jets club back in 1995 and remained with the team when it
relocated to Phoenix just a year later.
Doan was an unrestricted free agent this
summer and was told by the Coyotes that they wouldn’t be re-signing him.
However, it may have surprised some fans that another team didn’t take a chance
on the veteran right-winger, especially considering his excellent leadership
qualities. Doan actually announced his retirement via a notice in the Arizona
Republic newspaper and claimed it was a very difficult decision to come to. He
completed his final NHL season earlier this year with six goals and 27 assists
for 33 points in 74 games in his 13th campaign as the team’s
captain.
In total, Doan appeared in 1,540 regular-season
NHL games and racked up 402 goals and 570 assists for 972 points and served
1,353 penalty minutes. Those numbers make him the all-time franchise leader in points,
games played, goals, assists, game-winners and power-play goals. He played in
just 55 playoff contests though as he was often a member of relatively-weak
squads and chipped in with 15 goal and 13 assists for 28 points and spent 85
minutes in the penalty box.
Only eight other NHL players have managed
to suit up for 21 years with the same club with just three of them playing more
games than Doan. These were Alex Delvecchio, Nicklas Lidstrom and Gordie Howe,
who were all former Detroit Red Wings. Doan’s 1,540 games splayed currently
ranks him 14th all-time in league history. The Coyotes thanked their
former captain for everything he did off the ice and achieved on it for the
franchise by releasing a media statement shortly after he retired.
Doan was never a high-scoring superstar,
but was a consistent scorer and playmaker who always stood up for his
teammates. He reached the 20-goal mark 13 times and broke the 50-point barrier
on 11 occasions. Doan also represented the Coyotes in two All-Star Games and he
was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for the 2009/10 campaign, which
goes to the player who shows the best leadership qualities both on and off the
ice and who has also contributed significantly to humanitarian causes in his
community. He also won the Mark Messier Leadership Award for 2011/12.
Doan admitted that he wasn’t the most
skilled player on his team, let alone the league, and thanked the fans for
sticking by him through the Coyotes’ ups and downs. He said he greatly
appreciates and loved and respect he received in Arizona and will certainly
miss his teammates, club employees, friends, the fans and the community in
general. Ironically, the only player from the 1995 draft to score more points
than Doan is Jarome Iginla, and the free agent forward may also wind up on the
2018 Olympic squad with Doan.
Labels: Ian Palmer