Doan and desert a perfect match
Committed Coyotes captain remains focused on making hockey flourish in Arizona
GLENDALE, ARIZ. — “Hungrier Than Ever.”
Catchy phrase for a place where the NHL has never really caught on with the sporting populace.
You can blame the Phoenix Coyotes’ history of bad ownership, a bad location and a defensive-oriented product. And you can blame bad traffic, making it at least an hourlong frenzied freeway trek to Jobing. com Arena — depending on whether your game-night sojourn starts in Scottsdale or Phoenix. But you can’t blame Shane Doan. Like the consistent sunny weather, the loyal Phoenix Coyotes captain has been that constant ray of hope in the desert.
The face of the franchise could have departed as a free agent before the last lockout, and the Vancouver Canucks were pitching offers as hard as the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers.
And while the clock is ticking on the 37-year-old winger, he doesn’t want to contemplate the day when the mind is willing but the body isn’t, and a decade of playing through pain with hernia problems surfaces again.
“The day I retire, I’ll be playing in a men’s league somewhere because I love the game,” said Doan, the lone roster player since the club moved from Winnipeg in 1996.
“I love to coach my boys (Josh, 11; and Carson, 7) and I’ll always have something to do with the game — whether someone sees it or not, I don’t know.”
With the hope that the transfer of ownership from the league’s fouryear stewardship to George Gosbee and IceArizona — and a workable lease agreement with the City of Glendale — would provide a fresh franchise start, Doan was never going to leave the desert because of his commitment to make the game work where few thought it would.
“Throughout the (ownership) process, Shane was the first one I called every step of the way,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
“He is the face of the franchise and very important to the team and the community.”
The four-year, $21.1-million US contract extension that Doan signed on the eve of the lockout — to maximize his return, knowing the salary cap would drop in a new collective bargaining agreement — was about his focus on the franchise and his family.
Although it was the talk of the town when the Canucks were, expectedly, spurned, what’s happening now in Glendale is the bigger story. Under the effective coaching of Dave Tippett and leadership of general manager Don Maloney, the steady climb to consistency and respectability are reflected in the impact Doan has had among his peers.
Attracting free agents isn’t as much about an affordable housing market or plethora of golf courses.
It’s about being part of something special, and the Coyotes had lost once in regulation through their first 10 home dates despite having no players among the NHL’s top 35 scorers.
“I don’t think anybody in Phoenix gets any credit,” stressed Doan.
“Not too many people know what our record is and we just continue to play the way he (Tippett) wants.
“The respect he shows the players is reciprocated by the players respecting him so much, and it’s a great environment to play in.
“Around the league, guys are starting to know that. That’s why you get (Mike) Ribeiro and (Jeff) Halpern in free agency to come play for a coach who makes it a fun place to play, but at the same time holds everybody accountable. It’s exactly what every player wants.
“Ribs (Ribeiro) is calm and gives us a No. 1 power play unit that is legitimate so the second unit can get established. Guys are excited and expect to score.”
Doan doesn’t want to talk about his legacy because, if healthy, he can probably play beyond 40. But he will talk about what it means to be with one team in the desert through 17 years and see more seats occupied than empty — although too many corporate boxes remain vacant.
He will talk of the ultracompetitive Pacific Division and maintaining momentum.
“We’re off to a decent start, but proving it is going to take a lot longer,” he said.
“It’s going to take a year or two or three to create an atmosphere of where we expect to win every night and be one of the contenders — one of those teams others have to go through to have success. We’re getting closer, but it’s a long duration. Having stability in the organization is probably the first staple.”
That’s something Doan has wanted to talk about for a long time. It’s why he took as much interest in contract extensions to Henrik and Daniel Sedin as his own situation. He could have been their linemate if the Coyotes ownership wasn’t resolved.
“If I could play the game the way those guys play, yeah, I’d like to play a lot longer,” laughed Doan.
“Those guys are so skilled, and it’s a little harder work for me than them. They’re pretty special and it’s a very unique and honourable thing for them to stay with the same organization throughout their careers. It’s something that I think is very important.”