Doan staying with desert dogs

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Coyotes captain Shane Doan is the last original Winnipeg Jet still on the team. (JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES) Photo Store

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Shane Doan was one of the NHL's most coveted free agents this off-season, garnering attention from nearly half the league.

The 35-year-old Doan listened to all the offers, out of obligation to the free agency process, himself, his family. There were some pretty good ones, too.

But as he spoke with each of the teams interested in him, Doan made one thing clear: His top priority was to remain with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Doan got his wish Friday, signing a four-year, US$21.2 million contract with the Coyotes, a two-months-in-the-making deal that could keep one of the Phoenix area's most popular athletes in the desert until the end of his career.

"I'm glad to get it over with and get the deal done," Doan said from Jobing.Com Arena. "It's a deal that's been mostly done for a little while, but I wanted to wait a little while to see what happens."

It was a long wait for Doan.

The team's captain had hoped to sign with Phoenix before free agency began on July 15, but the uncertain ownership -- a situation that has dragged on for more than three years -- kept him from pulling the trigger.

Once the free agency period began, Doan listened to other teams, a fallback in case the ownership saga continued to drag on. Despite some lucrative offers, Doan stayed patient, believing all along that a deal to sell the team to owner-in-waiting Greg Jamison would be finalized.

The deal still hasn't been completed; Jamison is in negotiations with the City of Glendale to restructure an arena lease agreement and has yet to buy the Coyotes from the NHL, which has operated the team since its former owner filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009.

But with the NHL's current collective bargaining agreement about to expire and the players on the verge of a lockout, Doan felt like he had to make a decision.

Believing Jamison would close with the city and the league and keep the team in Phoenix, Doan signed with the Coyotes, a deal agreed upon in principle long before it was signed.

"As we went along, you kept thinking it was going to happen next week and I don't know how many times we heard in two more weeks it'll be done. Hopefully, in two weeks, it's done," Doan said with a chuckle. "At the same time, it did come down to a faith kind of a step and some hope, as well as this is the only organization I've been with. This is where I've been, this is where I've always wanted to be."

The lone remaining player from the Coyotes' Winnipeg days, Doan is the NHL's active leader in games played with one team, lacing up 1,198 times since being drafted with the seventh overall pick of the 1995 draft.

Despite his hard-checking style of play, Doan is one of the NHL's most respected players due to his hard-working approach and humility. He's considered one of the NHL's best captains -- he has worn the Coyotes "C" since 2003-04 -- and was awarded the Mark Messier Leadership Award last season for his contributions on and off the ice.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 15, 2012 C6