After 21 seasons in the NHL, Shane Doan may still have some gas left in the tank. At the age of 40, Doan is currently weighing his options and deciding whether or not he wants to return for a 22nd season. According to his agent, Terry Bross, another season sounds pretty likely.
Bross recently spoke with ArizonaSports.com and said that Doan is “leaning toward playing” one more season assuming he’s able to obtain a new contract.
“He hasn’t made a final decision, but I think he’s leaning toward playing one more year; I think he’s going to play. His body feels good, he loves the game and he loves the players.”
Doan may not be on the same level as 45-year-old Jaromir Jagr, but then again few mortals are. Doan being able to play in the NHL at 40 is extremely impressive, but the real story here is how he has managed to spend his entire NHL career with the same franchise.
Doan is one of just nine players who has skated with the same organization for at least 21 seasons. That’s pretty incredible.
His career started back in the 1995-96 season with the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets went on to move to become the Phoenix Coyotes – now known as the Arizona Coyotes – and Doan skated with them every step of the way through the 2016-17 season. Over time, Doan’s offensive contributions have slowed down, but he’s been remarkably reliable as he has been able to suit up in an average of 75 games per year over the last three years.
Of course, Doan’s intentions to play another year will rely on a team – specifically Arizona – wanting to give him a contract. He carried a cap hit of $3,876,134 in 2016-17 and under that he scored just 27 points in 74 games. That’s not a great point total, especially with that cap hit, but the Coyotes fall into a unique category with their cap strategy as they’re comfortable spending money on players who aren’t even in the league (Chris Pronger, Pavel Datsyuk) in order to hit the cap floor.
Doan would carry more value than those inactive players, but it’s difficult to envision him with another franchise given his age, recent production and history with the Coyotes. Barring a major surprise, look for Doan to find a new deal (probably with the Coyotes) in the near future.
