I'm not going to lie about it. I'm an unabashed Shane Doan fan. Always have been. Always will be. The guy is the embodiment of all the things you want to see in a great hockey player: he plays an honest game, works his ass off is practice and in games, is a leader of men, is as tough as leather, will drop his gloves to defend his family members, keeps himself in impeccable physical shape, and is no slouch when it comes to offensive production. At 6'1 and 228 lbs., Doan is a tank on skates and he loves to use his size to shield pucks and to batter opponents on the walls,
With the black storm clouds hovering overhead regarding the future ownership of the Desert Dogs in Phoenix right now, Doan is keeping his eyes and ears open. Will the new owner turn around the fortunes of the team that shocked the NHL this season, or, will it be loading up the Mayflower moving trucks and heading due north to Quebec City in the days and weeks to come?
Speculation abounds. Doan has options, and he is reportedly considering ALL of them, including testing the UFA market.
Doan is set to become UFA on Sunday July 1. He just completed playing out a five year, $22,750,000 contract. His average cap hit per season was a cap-friendly $4,550,000 per season.
In 1198 career NHL games, Doan has scored 318 goals and added 470 assists. 788 points and 1071 PIMS is quite an impressive body of work for a 16 year NHL veteran who still has Gary Roberts-like rubber on his all-season radials. He's played in 55 career NHL playoff games, amassing 15 goals and 13 assists, with 85 PIMs to boot.
Doan is a pain in the ass to play against, and for that reason alone, he'd be a perfect fit in the Buffalo top six forwards group. No. He is not a centre. Who cares? The guy is a difference maker that I feel the Sabres should be taking a strong look at right now. Like Steve Ott, Doan possesses all of the intangibles. He's a great role model to the kids in the Phoenix system and would do wonders with Sabres kids like Ennis, Hodgson, Stafford, Grigorenko, Girgensons, et al.
Want to know what kind of character this guy has? watch this video recorded after the Yotes were eliminated in 5 games vs. the LA Kings.
Don't let his age fool you. He's 35 right now, and is showing one iota of slowing down.
If you can't get Dustin Brown, go get the next bast thing: Shane Doan.
2 years and $10-11.5 million sounds about right to me.
Maybe Darcy trades a 2013 draft pick in the next three days to secure Doan's UFA rights.
With all the talk of Keith Yandle possibly leaving Phoenix, the Yotes will need veteran D help. Leopold? Sekera?
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