Retired former Coyotes captain Shane Doan explains what comes next

Shane Doan knows retirement won’t be easy.

The 21-year NHL veteran who spent his entire career with the Coyotes knows he will miss the sport that allowed him to express aggression like few other professions can.

The ugly breakup with Arizona leading to his retirement, which was announced Wednesday in a letter in The Arizona Republic, might not have sat well with him at first, but Doan has since found peace with his decision to spend more time with his family.

First thing’s first: Is Doan still a supporter of the Arizona Coyotes?

“It’s been a discussion actually, in our house. My kids, this is their home. That’s the team they’ve cheered for,” Doan said Wednesday visiting the Burns and Gambo show on 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station. “My son kind of asked me in a, ‘You know, is it OK if I still cheer for the Coyotes?’

“I was like, ‘Well, of course.’ We are legitimate fans … The guys they brought in, I’m excited to see what they do.”

As for a new career, the 40-year-old said he’s already discussed possibilities with people he knows in the league, but the time for him jumping into the other side of hockey isn’t now. What comes first in Doan’s retirement is spending time with his family.

That said:

“I’m not saying ‘no’ to anything,” Doan said when asked if he could see himself running an NHL team.

Does he see himself working in the NHL in some capacity?

“I think so,” Doan said.

While that may be years off, let’s rewind to the moment in June the Coyotes told Doan they would not offer him a new contract. The long-time Coyotes captain admitted soon after he understood the decision, but he couldn’t help the emotions from bubbling up.

Maybe those moments are when he realized his family needed him most.

“There was a couple times when I got pretty (upset) — usually by myself in the car,” Doan joked. “My wife said, ‘Well, between dropping kids off, you can yell and scream and do everything you want.’ She’s been amazing, her and people around me have kept me kind of focused. Are you kidding me? It’s not the end of the world. People get fired and let go all the time.”

Now, it’s just about finding a new avenue for letting that emotion out.

Arizona’s all-time leader in games played, shots, goals, assists and points will get his fill of hockey playing in rec leagues, but he’ll avoid taking out his aggression against the less talented.

“I enjoy the fact that when I’m on the ice, I have an ability to be a little bit of reckless, and I’m really anxious about the fact that that part of my life isn’t going to be there anymore, because I enjoy that,” Doan said.

“I really, really enjoy that (about hockey),” he added. “And that’s probably going to be the hardest thing. I talked with my boys: we might take up jiu jitsu or something and try to do some wrestling.”

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