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When I spoke to Shane Doan after news started breaking that the Coyotes were leaving Arizona, the tone in his gravelly voice instantly betrayed his state of mind.
“It’s like anything that you love and care about,” Doan said. “When it’s gone, you grieve and when you grieve, I think you go through a whole variety of emotions with probably sadness at the top of that list.
“Eventually, you go through some of the joys when you remember some of the great times you had. There’s some incredible moments that the Coyotes have provided for me and my family. The relationship that my family has with the Valley is so special and often underserved when you think about how much this community has given me. That knowledge probably leads you to anger that this has happened, and then you go back to sadness and disbelief. That’s kind of where I am right now.”
To call Doan the face of the Coyotes is the most obvious statement you could make about his place in this community. He is the franchise leader in a variety of categories including games played (1,540), goals (402), assists (570), points (972), even-strength goals (268) and power-play goals (128) — but not hat tricks.
Doan had opportunities to leave the team in free agency or via trade while he was playing, but he always stayed loyal to the Valley, believing that better, more stable days were ahead for the NHL’s red-headed stepchild. Even when he retired — or more accurately, was forced to retire by former owner Andy Barroway and former GM John Chayka — he rebuffed offers to join other teams and signed on as an ambassador.
Now a special advisor to Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving, Doan was only willing to move on when it became clear that he would have no significant voice in hockey operations — that the Meruelo ownership group had no greater role in mind for him than what his confidants labeled “a show pony.”
That slight notwithstanding, Doan has been a frequent fan at Coyotes games at Mullett Arena this season, and he was on hand for what was likely the most memorable night of the season until the Coyotes said goodbye to the Valley in the season finale. His son, Josh, scored two goals in his NHL debut.
Shane Doan’s reaction to Josh Doan‘s first NHL goal.
Pure elation! pic.twitter.com/oyBVi5nyKw
“I came to a state and to a city that I didn’t know and never really thought of, but it treated me so well,” Doan said of the Winnipeg Jets’ relocation to Arizona in 1996, after Doan’s rookie season. “The amazing opportunities my son has had recently obviously adds to the joy and the excitement, but I think what I experienced when I got here is what’s going on with my son and the players right now with Salt Lake City. I want them to thrive and be successful in Salt Lake City. I want them to be incredibly successful.
“The uniqueness in kind of writing your own story here in Arizona was something that I really enjoyed. I want the guys and the people that go with the team to experience that in Salt Lake. From everything you hear and read about [owner] Ryan Smith, he’s going to give them every opportunity to do that.”
(Photo courtesy of Arizona Coyotes)
Doan knows there are concerns that Arizona youth hockey and the overall state of the game will suffer as a result of the Coyotes’ relocation. No matter what efforts community leaders put forth — and they are working feverishly to preserve the current state — not having an NHL team for kids to look up to is a challenging reality that nobody can deny.
“I think it will have an impact on youth hockey,” Doan said. “I think that the heavy lifting will be done by ASU and the Ice Den and Taylor Burke and his group and then obviously over at AZ Ice, but it’s going to be much more difficult. That being said, I think that the foundation is a lot stronger and in a better spot than it was. It has an opportunity to still be successful and to continue to grow.”
Doan has heard talk in some quarters that if and when NHL hockey finally returns to the Valley, it might make sense to wipe the slate clean; to abandon the Coyotes name and start fresh. He does not agree.
“I don’t think you should wipe away all of the past; I think that you should build upon the past,” he said. “In the same way that we’ve built upon every different group and iteration in the past, we should continue to build on that. Getting rid of it all would be a mistake. We need to learn and develop and understand how to be successful here in the Valley.”
(Getty Images)
Just as Doan is grieving, he knows that many others in the Valley are also grieving, from fans to media to community leaders.
“A hockey team is way more than just the sport, and sports are way more than just the competition on the ice,” he said. “That’s the part that we all see, but it’s the relationships, it’s the friendships, it’s the time spent together at the rink. It’s the cheering. It’s all of it. It’s so much more than just a sport. It’s a family and a membership in something that’s very special and unique.
“But just because the players are gone from the city, that doesn’t mean that all of the people that supported and cheered for them have to feel like it’s gone. It’s just in a different location, so we’re gonna have to continue to support and care for and take care of each other.”
With that in mind, Doan offered one more message to Coyotes fans.
“You have to go through that grieving process. It’s important,” he said. “This chapter has come to an end and it’s not an end that you like. Everybody wants their story to be happy and fluffy and perfect. But those are not the most powerful stories.
“I think the stories we like best are stories of being beaten down, and then there’s the comeback and the resilience, and when you’ve lost everything, then you are revived. That’s been our story here in Arizona. This chapter is dark and I guess extra gloomy because the team is leaving, but it’s just a chapter and I believe there’ll be another one.”
Top photo of Shane Doan waving to fans at his jersey retirement ceremony in 2019 via Getty Images
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