Shane Doan (right) celebrates a Coyotes goal with Brad Richardson in 2015. Doan reflects on what being a Coyote has meant and passes along a message to fans.
The Coyotes triggered a new chapter in their hockey history with the decision to not bring back longtime captain Shane Doan, news that became public Monday after Doan was told Saturday.
Doan shared a detailed account of how he learned of the team’s decision but also opened up about what his future could look like, reflected on what his time as a Coyote has meant to him and passed along a message to fans.
Doan was told he wouldn’t be offered a contract by the Coyotes during a Saturday morning sit-down with General Manager John Chayka at First Watch in Scottsdale, a place Doan often frequents and usually eats at with his family Saturdays during the season.
Chayka initially reached out to Doan Thursday and asked if he could meet that day. Doan couldn’t, so they settled on Saturday. Doan figured they were meeting to discuss the team’s future plans, giving him an opportunity to share his thoughts.
When he walked into the restaurant around 9 a.m., Chayka was already waiting for him and told Doan he wouldn’t be ordering because he didn’t have time to eat. They small talked for about five minutes before Chayka delivered the news and thanked Doan for his time and service. Doan was in the restaurant for only eight to nine minutes before leaving.
“I actually walked out first,” he said. “I just stood up. I shook his hand and said, ‘Thank you,’ and walked out.”
Doan felt he had been “corporately fired.”
“I appreciated that John was in a tough position, but that’s the way it felt,” Doan said. “You understand that’s the way it happens . ... I understand that it’s part of
our game. Lots of people get fired. You get cut and fired. It happens. I felt the way anyone that happens to (would feel).”
After leaving First Watch, Doan drove straight home. His wife, Andrea, laughed when he walked in.
“She’s like, ‘That was quick,’” Doan said. “I was like, ‘Yeah.’”
He felt upset and hurt by the decision, which surprised him, but Doan also realized it’s part of the business.
“Hey if you’re a hockey player, this is par for the course,” he said. “This is what happens. It hadn’t happened to me in this long. I’m pretty fortunate.”
Is a reunion possible?
The Coyotes offered Doan an off-ice position with the club Monday morning, a job Doan said he’d heard about but had yet to learn the specifics of.
While he acknowledged he isn’t bitter about his departure, it’s unclear if this will affect a future partnership with the team.
“I don’t know,” Doan said. “I haven’t really thought that far ahead.”
Return vs. retire
An off-ice role with the Coyotes may be irrelevant at this point in time if Doan decides to continue playing.
He has yet to determine if he’ll suit up for a 22nd season or retire. Before Saturday’s news, he had been waiting to gauge the Coyotes’ plans to help with his thought process. Doan has also been training, working out alongside the likes of center Brad Richardson and defensemen Zbynek Michalek and Kevin Connauton.
“As of this moment, I’m just trying to get a grasp, just get an idea of what the next step’s moving forward and figure it out,” Doan said. “... If it’s not the perfect situation, then it doesn’t make sense. I’ve had an incredible career. I’ve been appreciated and respected more than a lot of people that have a lot more skill than me. I totally understand and always a little bit awed and humbled by it and aware of it and all the flaws in myself and my game and everything that goes along with being a player. So I don’t know what my plan is to go forward. I wish I could know exactly. I thought I did know. Now it’s different, so I guess that happens.”
Handling adversity
Last season was one of Doan’s worst in terms of offensive production as he managed just six goals and 27 points. In 2015-16, he led the team with 28 goals – which tied the third-highest output of his career.
Doan played the first six-to-seven weeks of the season with a broken right hand he said he suffered in training camp when he got hit with a shot. The hand was taped the entire season.
“It wasn’t a big deal,” he said. “I could play with it and if you can play – I just wasn’t as effective as I should have been.”
A third-to-last finish in the NHL didn’t flatter most players on the Coyotes, and Doan explained how a bleak season can affect a player’s mindset.
“I’m an emotional player that needs to play with heart and emotion and for the most part, I felt I got behind a little bit with my hand,” Doan said. “After that, it was a little bit tough and couldn’t really get back on track and the team struggled. It happens, and I wasn’t very good. Then the team wasn’t very good, and you lose your heart a little bit. For someone like myself, I need to play with that. I need to have that going forward. If I was in a position where you’re playing for something, I think I can be very effective.”
» Visit coyotes .azcentral.com for more thoughts from Doan.