On that note, I am back and there is FINALLY some hockey to talk about!
According to a report by the New York Post, Shane Doan has narrowed his list down to three teams should he decide to leave Phoenix. The teams that are supposedly in the running are the New York Rangers, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vancouver Canucks.
What seems to be delaying this process is the fact that if Doan is going to leave Phoenix he plans on retiring with this team. Not only would he want them to be competitive this upcoming season, but for the next three to four years. Combining Doan's demands of a lengthy term and hefty raise, signing the captain of the Coyotes will be no rushed decision.
The New York Rangers:
Coming off a summer where they landed arguably the most sought after player available via trade, New York is still looking to make a splash. Although they gave up Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky, Tim Erixon and a 1st round pick, the consensus is that the Rangers are a better team after the trade.
The article mentions how even though the Rangers walked away with the best player in the trade, their depth has been depleted. Should the season start today (or even on time for that matter) they would have to rely heavily on youngsters Chris Kreider and Carl Hagelin. Marian Gaborik will be sidelined for the start of the season regardless of when it starts as he is slated to miss the first quarter of the season.
Enter Shane Doan.
The 36 year old might not be able to score 41 goals like New York's top goal scorer, Marian Gaborik, but he is still a more than competent hockey player that could contribute in more ways than one. Should Doan decide on the Rangers, he would be tied for the oldest player on the team with recently acquired Jeff Halpern.
Doan could slide into the second line (with Rangers captain, Ryan Callahan and potential centre man Chris Kreider or Derek Stepan) or the third line depending on his role with the team.
The Nash trade is indicative that New York wants to win and win now (or within the seven year window of Nash's contract). This kind of attitude would be very attractive to a player like Doan who is nearing the end of his career without a championship ring.
The Rangers also have roughly $11.7 million in cap space so the money won't be an issue to get him in the red, white and blue. The real question will be is Rangers GM, Glen Sather, going to fork over a four year deal worth upwards of $24 million for an aging player like Doan.
The Pittsburgh Penguins:
I firmly stand behind the belief that Pittsburgh's management was extremely displeased with their early playoff exit. They had a (seemingly) healthy Crosby and they had Malkin tearing up the NHL as usual. The Pittsburgh Penguins were poised to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup.
On the NHL's website, they had 16 writers and analysts make their playoff predictions. Out of the 16 people surveyed, 10 had the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup this past June.
Now it seems as though management is on a little bit of an angry streak to take this star studded lineup back to championship glory. They added Thomas Vokoun this summer which will lessen Marc Andre Fleury's work load and also acquired Brandon Sutter who will be a fine replacement for Jordan Staal. While Sutter might not be known for his offensive power, he has already informed management of
his desire to be more than a defensive specialist.
Doan's addition to the Penguins would bolster their top six forward group and give them depth in their lineup. Even though Pascal Dupuis is coming off a career year (25G 59Pts) I think most general managers would take Doan over Dupuis any day of the week.
Pittsburgh had the seventh oldest team in the NHL last season with an average age of 28.201. This upcoming season (Sans Shane Doan) their average age is currently 28.261 years old. If they were to sign Doan, their average age for the upcoming season would be 28.583 years old. It is interesting to note that the five oldest teams in the NHL made the playoffs whereas the five youngest teams did not.
If Doan were to sign with the Penguins, he would be joining a perennial Cup contender. Period. By using capgeek.com, I estimated that Doan would sign anywhere from $6.5 to $7 million per season. Plugging those numbers into Pittsburgh's salary would leave the team with roughly $3.4 to $2.9 million in cap space. Even with Doan's high salary to their team, the Penguins would have enough wiggle room for the upcoming season. Whether or not they will offer the term that Doan is looking for is a completely different ball game.
The Vancouver Canucks:
Every Canadian boy (except Rick Nash) dreams of playing in their homeland of Canada. Although Doan playing in Vancouver would not have the same sentimental value as say...Winnipeg, you can be assured that Canucks fans everywhere would happily welcome Doan to their team.
Ryan Kesler, Vancouver's second line center, will be sidelined for the start of the NHL season and according to his agent Kesler won't be back until December. That is a long time to lose a key player on your team.
Should the Canucks sign Doan they would be over the cap and have to move some salary around. The good news for Vancouver is that they can put Kesler on long term injured reserve until he returns. This would buy the Canucks some time until they can make the desired moved to be salary cap compliant.
With Kesler out of the lineup until at least December, Doan would be able to fill a physical void left by the injured Canuck. Doan's agent believes that Vancouver is absolutely a possibility and many believe so as well.
Canucks management is at a crossroads and need to decide what the missing piece has been from their lineup the past two seasons. If they think what they have been missing is a power forward of Doan's stature then they should be willing to do anything and everything in their power to bring him to Vancouver.
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Shane Doan is the kind of player that will make any team he joins better. He works hard, he leads, he wears his heart on his sleeve and he produces. Maybe not to the value of $7 million per year but the longer this saga drags on, the more desperate teams will be to lock him up.
Share your thoughts on Doan and where you think he would be the best fit in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
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