On the Arizona Coyotes …
Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports: The Arizona Coyotes won’t be offering Shane Doan a contract for next year. A statement from Coyotes owner Andrew Barroway.
“After serious consideration, we have decided to not offer Shane Doan a contract for the upcoming season. The time has come for us to move on and to focus on our young, talented group of players and our very bright future. This was a very difficult decision given what Shane has done for the Coyotes and his unparalleled importance to the organization. With that said, this is necessary to move us forward as a franchise.
“On behalf of the entire organization, I would like to sincerely thank Shane for everything he’s done for the Coyotes on and off the ice the past 21 years. Shane is a Valley icon who had an incredible career and was one of the best captains to ever play in the NHL.
“Shane deserves an enormous amount of credit for keeping the Coyotes in the Valley and for growing the game of hockey in Arizona. He is beloved by our fans, corporate partners and the media and has been a tremendous leader for us in the community, and a great role model for kids. We wish him and his family all the best in the future. He will be a member of our Pack forever.”
The 40-year old Doan had played his entire with the franchise in both Winnipeg and Arizona/Phoenix and appeared in 1,540 games.
In a series of tweets from Morgan …
Doan was notified on Saturday that they donn’t plan on bringing him back and are going in a different direction. Oliver Ekman-Larsson will take over as team captain. Doan’s agent Terry Bross:
“Shane is ready to enter the free-agent market & see where it goes. Time for him to get a shot at the Cup.”