Long-time Coyotes forward Shane Doan is leaning towards playing next season, reports Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports. Doan’s agent Terry Bross provided the following update on the situation:
“He hasn’t made a final decision, but I think he’s leaning toward playing one more year; I think he’s going to play. His body feels good, he loves the game and he loves the players.”
It’s believed that Doan is looking to make a decision before the NHL Entry Draft which would allow GM John Chayka some time to work out how Doan will fit in on the roster for next season. He’s coming off of one of the more complicated contracts around the league, one that carries deferred payments of a $1.5MM signing bonus over the next five seasons as well as a $1MM games played bonus payable in 2018 and 2019.
The pending unrestricted free agent holds many franchise records, including goals (402), assists (570), points (972), and games played (1,540). However, his production dropped considerably this past season as Doan tallied just six goals and 21 assists in 74 games, his lowest full-season output since 1998-99.
If Doan is to return to the only NHL organization he has ever been a part of, it will assuredly be at a lower rate than the $4.84MM AAV he carried in 2016-17 (which includes the deferred payments). It’s likely that the 40 year old would fill a bottom six role for Arizona which would allow a youngster like Anthony Duclair, who like Doan spent some time on the right wing this year, to get some more consistent playing time.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.