Coyotes’ Doan doesn’t want to overstay his welcome
Sep 26, 2016, 9:48 AM | Updated: 11:19 am
Arizona Coyotes' Shane Doan waves to a cheering crowd after Doan became the franchise leader in points with 930, during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Calgary Flames Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Shane Doan knew where the question was going before it had ended. When he looks at the Coyotes’ overflowing harvest of talented prospects, does Arizona’s G-rated captain ever think, ‘aw, fudge?’
“Do I think ‘if only I was 10 years younger?'” he asked, smiling. “There’s no question that I look at that and I’m aware of that and I think that way, but at the same time, I make a conscious effort to never to worry too much about that.”
Doan knows that his career is drawing to a close, perhaps as soon as the end of this season. He knows his odds are slim of ever participating (at least on the ice) in a Coyotes revival, or a deep playoff run with the stable of young guns coming up through the system. He’ll turn 40 in two weeks and the NHL days of 40-plus players are numbered, even with advances in sports science.
Doan’s worst fear is overstaying his welcome, which made this summer’s protracted contract talks all the more instructive when projecting his future with the club. Both sides have insisted publicly that those negotiations were always positive and never turned challenging, but that isn’t entirely true, and Doan hinted at that in an appearance on the Burns & Gambo show on Friday with Dave Burns and Luke Lapinski when Burns suggested the Coyotes should give Doan a lifetime contract.
“I had a hard time getting a one-year deal,” Doan quipped.
Doan doesn’t want to be that veteran that hangs on well past his useful days.
“That’s what I am most afraid of,” he said Friday after the first day of training camp. “I don’t want them ever to be like: ‘We have to be polite to him so we have to keep him around.’
“Every athlete says ‘I’ll know when I’m done,’ but I don’t think you ever do. I think you’re one of the last ones to figure it out. Hopefully, I have enough people around me that are friends and are honest with me that I won’t be offended by them being rude and saying ‘hey, it’s time for you to move on.'”
On the surface, Doan has a strong case for sticking around. He led the team in scoring last season with 28 goals, even if teammate Jordan Martinook ribs him that half of those goals were just good fortune. However a player scores, it matters a whole lot in the NHL, and Doan produced, but there are underlying numbers both Doan and coach Dave Tippett track that could tell a different story.
For starter’s, Doan’s 16.5 shooting percentage last season was more than six percentage points higher than his career average, suggesting a regression. There is also the pace of the game, which continues to increase around a player who has never been known for his foot speed. That creates a number of issues.
“Shane’s a smart guy,” Tippett said. “He’s honest and realistic about things and he understands what’s going on. He knows we want to continue to improve and for us to improve, other players are going to have to come in and make us a better team.
“If that takes ice time away from Shane or pushes Shane out of certain situations he’d normally be in, then that means we’re a better team. That being said, he takes that challenge to heart so somebody coming and challenging him for his ice time; it’s not going to be an easy challenge.”
The process of weaning the Coyotes of Doan already began last season when he largely played on the team’s third line. The process will continue this season, but those details will be worked out by Doan’s performance and other players’ performances.
“Tip talked to me about it last year and we’ll discuss it again this year,” Doan said. “I’m not saying I like that and am going, ‘Oh, yay!’ At the same time, I understand it and if I have to deal with it I’ll deal with it.”
If Doan finds himself wearing a suit in a team suite two years down the road when the Coyotes are still engaged in the playoffs, it will sting. He hasn’t tasted enough of the NHL’s dramatic postseason, advancing past the first round just once in his 20 seasons to date.
While there will surely be envy, however, there won’t be regret when he retires.
“Not too much,” he said. “I’d love to be able to be a part of that. I’ve enjoyed my career and I know it’s not done yet.
“Do I think things could have been different or better in certain areas? Sure, I’m not naïve enough to think otherwise, but it could have been a lot worse. I’ve been blessed to be able to play professional sports in an incredible city with incredible fans, so I shouldn’t worry about that.”
