With Zach Parise off the market, and Alexander Semin taking his time to field offers and decide what he wants to do next season, the free agent focus has shifted to the highly coveted and highly versatile former Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan.
Doan, 35, gave Phoenix management until Monday, July 9, to get their ownership issues in order before he would begin fielding offers from other clubs.
“That’s the reason we haven’t entertained any offers,” Bross said earlier this week. “We’re trying to give the Coyotes a chance to get this stuff resolved with the city and allow him to stay home and finish his career where he started it.”
A lack of resolution in Phoenix appears to spell the end for Doan as his agent has confirmed that several teams have reached out and expressed interest in his client.
As many as 14 teams are reportedly interested in Doan, although he seems more apt to go to a contender who could possible help the veteran forward win his first ever Stanley Cup championship.
Vancouver Canucks assistant general manager Laurence Gilman confirmed that his team is interested in Doan.
“I have spoken to Shane Doan on behalf of our organization a couple of times,” Gilman said Monday. “I spoke with him on July 1 to express our interest in bringing him to Vancouver and subsequently followed up with Shane last night. I know from my experience in Phoenix that he has been interested in Vancouver in the past. He’s a western Canadian guy whose wife is from Kamloops. So I think there is interest there. I had productive discussions with both Shane and his agent.”
In addition to Vancouver, Doan is also considering joining the Detroit Red Wings.
“That’s one of the teams he mentioned he was interested in playing for,” Doan’s agent Terry Bross said.
Additional suitors pursuing Doan include the San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Nashville Predators, and possibly the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings.
Doan’s experience, leadership and consistency make him a valuable asset for any team and a hot free agent commodity. While a return to the Coyotes hasn’t been completely ruled out yet, the prospect of playing in Phoenix next season appears more and more unlikely the longer this drags on without any ownership solutions for the team.
However, Doan’s first choice to is to stay in Phoenix and re-sign with the Coyotes – a scenario that could still potentially happen. Doan was set to meet with Greg Jamison, the potential new owner of the Coyotes, to see where the deal stands.
“The bottom line is we still don’t have any resolution,”said Doan’s agent. “If Jamison’s deal was solidified to keep the team there, then that’s the direction he would go. (But) it seems like every day there’s a new fly in the ointment.”
