Ex Arizona Coyotes Forward Shane Doan Retires

Shane Doan, who played his entire 21 year NHL career with the Arizona Coyotes (beginning with the original Winnipeg Jets before the franchise relocated) has announced his retirement.

Doan, 40, was not offered a contract back in June, and was free to pursue other teams, which he did, but decided to hang it up, perhaps realizing after reflection that it is time. The Coyotes, who haven’t made the playoffs for five years, are trying to build a young team and Doan didn’t figure in those plans. Last season, he scored just six goals and had 21 assists in 74 games. His best years in terms of scoring were in 2007-8 when he scored 78 points (28 goals, 50 assists) and ’08-09 (31 goals, 42 assists for 73 points).

After Doan announced his retirement in a letter to fans in the Arizona Republic on August 30th, the Coyotes posted a thank you to him on YouTube: