Shane Doan In A Red Wings Jersey: I Like It
Shane Doan is both a bastard and a player I've wanted on the Wings for a while. He's got that toughness, grit and goal scoring talents that we haven't had up front for a while. Since Shanny actually (though certainly not at the same level.) He wears his heart on his sleeve and while occasionally has a dirty hit, isn't a dirty player.
Well, it's looking like he's going to the open market on July 1st and I think the Wings should make a play for him. Helene St. James agrees with me (I started this damn article yesterday and shoulda finished it before she jumped on the bandwagon.)
Shane Doan, a Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes lifer, is, in all likelihood, going to be available when free agency opens Sunday -- and that will get the attention of numerous NHL teams, including the Red Wings.
Doan is known around the league for his leadership and desire to win. He has captained the Coyotes since 2003-04 and falls into the classic mold of someone who leads by example. He'll be 36 in October, but he's a durable guy -- over the past seven seasons, he has played in 550 of 574 possible regular-season games. The only games he missed last season were the three for which he was suspended by the NHL.
He has good size, at 6-feet-1 and 220 pounds, and he shoots right, which would be helpful for the Wings, who are very heavy on lefty shots.
Hit the jump to see where Doan would fit in:He's getting up there in age, but can still score at a good rate, even on a team like Phoenix:
In 16 seasons, he has reached at least 20 goals 11 times, including each of the past two. He plays in all situations: power play, penalty kill, late in games when leading or trailing. He averaged just under 20 minutes per game last season, tops among the team's forwards. In the playoffs, he was tied for the team lead with five goals and second with nine points in 16 games, and again led all of Phoenix's forwards with an average ice time of nearly 21 minutes.
I think he'd fit in real nice as a second or third liner and make this team absolutely dominate up front. Franzen - Datsyuk - Parise/Semin
Filppula - Zetterberg - Doan
Bertuzzi - Helm - Brunner
Cleary - Abdelkader - Eaves / Miller / Homer
Helene makes the same pitch:With the Wings, Doan would play for a team that averages more than 20,000 in attendance per home game and has made the playoffs 21 straight seasons. It hasn't gone well the past three years in the playoffs, but Doan could help be part of the solution. It's hard to think he wouldn't be a fabulous fit on Pavel Datsyuk's right side, maybe with big winger Johan Franzen on the left. Having Doan for a winger would be symbiotic for Datsyuk, because Doan is a keep-the-flies-off type of player.
While I'm busy studying for the bar/flashing Jelly Bean on my Nexus, I'll throw it to the readers, what do you all think?
In my opinion, as far as forwards go, I think we should just pick up parise or semin and call it good and see where we are once the season begins. Because, although the thought of going after a Doan/Penner type sounds very good we are so overstocked on forwards that we can't be bringing in more without sending some out. Nyquist was not in the lineup in your post, and he is a definite top-6 next season, and we have Brunner coming in who, according to babcock is a top-6 forward.
If the season rolls around and were still having problems, we should probably have some left over cap-room, and probably have some trade bait.
The thought of this makes me think of the A-Team. I'm B.A.; Doan is an airplane. Drug me and when I wake up it probably wouldn't be so bad
Going after Doan makes a lot of sense to me (and hopefully the WIngs too). If Detroit doesn't want to pay too much cash for a bottom six tough guy, they might as well pay for a top six tough guy (with skill and plenty of offensive pop). Those line combinations should include Nyquist though, shouldn't they? He'll be playing somewhere in the top three lines.
NHL Live (NHL Network) just quote Doan's response to the question, "Wouldn't you rather play in a place like Detroit or Pittsburgh?" as saying, "Why would I want to play in a place like that when I can play in Phoenix?" They say he is just frustrated with the ownership situation and would strongly prefer to resign with his current team. No one is totally clear why he is testing the FA market other than he has nothing better to do in this frustrating situation.
It's funny, I just went from thinking Justin Schultz could be the next great Red Wing FA pickup to completely hating him. I wonder if I could do the opposite for Shane Doan. I doubt it...not with that ugly face!
I would have liked to get Doan about 4 years ago, but for the right price, I think he'd still be a decent short-term addition. That said, I am afraid we might have a Modano/Commodore situation per below...Khan wrote an article on this a couple days ago. Apparently Shane Doan really doesn't like Babcock or Yzerman because they took him off an Olympic team in a few years past. I don't know if this would stop him from joining us, but if that feeling is mutual with Babcock, I can't help but think he would have Modano and Commodore running through his mind.
@ThroatShot I think he would be more concerned about winning a cup than his feelings at this point in his career.
I like the idea but I almost think we could get something similar, if not better, in Penner.
@magnum9 Doan is getting old, and I'm sure he would want to win a Cup. We have to remember that we aren't his only option for that anymore. He may want to just get a market price for himself in order to negotiate a better deal with his career team (loyalty), or he may want $$$ (which we can compete on, but only to a point with him), or he may want a Cup (again, there are other legitimate contenders with money to spend, so who knows). I would say that feelings will play a role given similar offers from similar level of contenders.
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@magnum9 @ThroatShot Cheaper, but not better. I think Doan might be better in every aspect than Penner.
I got into this win Jordan on the tweet machine, he told me to slag off.... But Doan could be that piece people were saying was missing from last hers squad when compared to previous wing championships that guy with the most drive, that Dallas Drake, that win it for Vladdy, that thing I thought Modano could be. Yes I understand he won't be the deciding factor, but go back and read posts and comments about a voice in the locker room, nobody thought the wings have one, babbles isnt saying much and Z seems even quieter lids... I like it, bring him in and let him bash a ge skulls score some goals have Z hand him the cup and then be can skate away.
@D.M.N Did I? Cause I agree that Doan should be a Wing and fills the Drake role only he has more offense to give
@Jordan_Reis I sincerely apologize it was josh... You both came here around the same time, both J names... As far as I know you're the same person... Have I ever mentioned here how many drugs I've done in my life... Cause that might help explain a few things...
@D.M.N Maybe you are on to something. Maybe Josh and I are the same person. Or maybe he writes some articles under my name and I do photoshops in his... Or maybe neither of us even exist...
I'm seriously considering getting a Nexus now that Jelly Bean is out... oh, you meant about Doan... uh yeah sure he can come too.
@moorecha Yeah my Droid 2 with CM 7.1 (nightly 138) is showing its age. I'm actually thinking about buying it unlocked and going with Metro PCS or one of the little carriers.
@thebiglachovsky Not a bad idea. $350 on play. Only problem is no 4G, and that's a great great thing, trust me.
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Even though Phoenix lost to us the past two times we met in the playoffs, Doan's play always stood out. When his team was struggling he would try his best to lift them. The second line does seem like a better fit for him, despite what Helene said. We need to fill the open spot on the first line with a high powered scorer, plus I have a feeling that Franzen is not too fond of Doan.
