A new team has thrown in their chips for the services of forward Shane Doan. In a tweet by ESPN’s John Buccigross, a report has come out stating that the Buffalo Sabres have offered him a four-year, $30 million offer. An unrestricted free agent, Doan has said he would love and prefer to stay in Phoenix. But it appears that the offer from Buffalo might be too good to pass up.
Should he move to the East, he would join Rick Nash as notable West players changing conferences this off-season. And just like Nash, Doan is on a team that simply doesn’t have enough talent around him to be a serious championship contender. Should he join the Sabres, he would join recent acquisitions John Scott and Steve Ott. This trio alone could form one of the best three-man combinations in terms of grit, toughness and a willingness to agitate the opposition on the ice to go along with 2011 big signings Christian Ehrhoff and Ville Leino.
Currently, the highest-paid player is Thomas Vanek at $7.14 million. Doan’s $7.5 million would surpass that, which means that the Sabres cannot afford to have the salary cap ceiling go down from its current $70.2 million level once a new CBA is reached. Things could get interesting for teams such as the Sabres, Rangers and Wild if the two sides agree on the previously reported $54 million salary cap as all three teams would be over $13 million over the cap.
