The 39-year-old agreed to a one-year contract to remain with the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday, and wants to set straight the doubters who have questioned why he continues to remain with the franchise that drafted him.
During Doan's 20 years in the league he has managed to make the postseason just nine times, including his first season with the franchise when they were known as the Winnipeg Jets.
But it was only in the 2011-2012 season, when the Coyotes lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Los Angeles Kings, that his team managed to make it past the first round of the playoffs.
With the improved roster general manager John Chayka has been assembling in the offseason, it will be interesting to see how Doan and company fare in their quest for Lord Stanley next season.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Craig Morgan of arizonasports.com reported Monday that the deal will pay Doan a base salary of $2.5 million, but with a deferred signing bonus and incentives the 39-year-old will make roughly $5 million next season.
"We are thrilled to have Shane back for another year," general manager John Chayka said in a release. "No one has done more for this franchise than Shane. He’s one of the best captains in the NHL and we are lucky to have him."
Doan is coming off his 20th season in the league, but showed no rust leading his club with 28 goals while adding another 19 assists in 72 games.
"I’m happy to sign for another year," said Doan. "I'm very excited about the players we added this summer and all of the talent we have on our roster. I'm really looking forward to the upcoming season."
Doan will return looking to pad his franchise-leading totals in goals (396), points (945), power-play goals (125), and games (1,466).
The 18-year-old, who was stretchered off the ice after a hit from William Carrier during the team's 3-on-3 tournament, has since been released from hospital and is doing well, the team announced.
Campoli - who is committed to Boston College next season - was awake, moving his extremities, and joking around prior to being taken to a nearby hospital.
The New Jersey Devils have named former player Ryan Clowe as the team's newest assistant coach.
Clowe will join the likes of Geoff Ward, Alain Nasreddine, and goaltending coach Chris Terreri behind head coach John Hynes.
"We are looking forward to Ryan joining our staff," Hynes said in a release. "His character, expertise as a player, knowledge of the game, and passion to coach will be a benefit for our players and the Devils’ organization."
While Clowe has not officially retired, the 33-year-old made the decision to stop playing last September after dealing with several concussions. He instead spent the 2015-2016 season working alongside the club's coaching and operations staff.
He is currently sitting on the long-term injured reserve, with two years remaining on his five-year, $24.25-million contract. The deal holds a cap hit of $4.85 million.
The 23-year-old spent part of last season with the Stars, dressing in 19 games and contributing two assists. He also suited up in eight games for the Texas Stars of the American Hockey league where he added another two assists.
"Jamie brings size and a physical element to our backend," general manager Jim Nill said in a release. "We're expecting him to have a solid summer of training and development and look forward to him competing for a regular spot in our lineup."
With Oleksiak now locked up, the club has just one restricted free agent to contend with, forward Valeri Nichushkin.
Tim Murray might have learned his lesson with Connor McDavid.
After admitting he was thinking too much about the top prospect heading into the 2015 draft and calling him "our franchise-changing player" before the Buffalo Sabres had even won the lottery, the Edmonton Oilers landed the top pick and selected McDavid.
The Sabres general manager seemed far more passive when asked about highly-touted pending free-agent forward Jimmy Vesey on Tuesday.
"I've talked about this literally less than anyone else in Buffalo," Murray told reporters at the Sabres' development camp, according to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News.
"I hear the guys on the radio, and people are mad. This is like top-end news. I think I've paid less attention to this than anybody. It is what it is. We made a trade. We traded one of our four third-round picks to be able to talk to him."
The Sabres acquired Vesey's exclusive negotiating rights from the Nashville Predators, with whom the Hobey Baker Award winner and his camp refused to sign.
Vesey's camp has repeatedly stated they intend to explore free agency when eligible on Aug. 15.
Buffalo's brass sat down with Vesey and his representatives in Boston last week. The 23-year-old's agent said the meeting went "quite well" and that his client felt "very comfortable" with Murray and Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma.
Murray didn't seem eager to share any details of the rendezvous Tuesday.
"We went down there. We spoke to him. I told him he doesn't owe anybody anything," he said. "He went to school for four years and he (is about to become) a free agent, so now he's got to make the right decision for him. There's no timetable."
The GM echoed the sentiments of Vesey's camp but admitted he wasn't sure if a second meeting was going to happen.
"I felt really good about the meeting," Murray said. "I got great feedback about the meeting but this is his show right now. If he wants to come in here or he wants to reach out to us and have another meeting then we're there. But for me, this is in his court."
Vesey could have a plethora of suitors on Aug. 15, but Murray cautioned against getting carried away with speculation in the meantime.
"I don't sit at home and speculate about this," Murray said. "He's either going to sign here or he's not. If he doesn't, it's going to be obviously not the decision we want and you guys will call me a dummy for trading away a third-round pick. I've got all the scenarios and I'm ready for it all but it's up to him. It's his time."
An event normally associated with optimism became the site of a scary scene Tuesday morning.
Michael Campoli, an undrafted invitee to the Buffalo Sabres' development camp, had to be stretchered off the ice after taking a hard hit from prospect William Carrier along the boards during a 3-on-3 tournament.
Players were sent to the dressing rooms while Campoli was attended to by medical personnel, according to NHL.com's Joe Yerdon.
Trainers stabilized Campoli's neck as he lay flat on the ice while waiting for EMTs to arrive. He was eventually removed on a stretcher and taken to the arena elevators, with Sabres general manager Tim Murray looking on.
For the immediate impact that they're expected to have, the reigning No. 1 and No. 2 overall NHL draft selections, Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine, must be considered the betting favorites for the Calder Trophy.
But as Artemi Panarin and Shayne Gostisbehere proved while finishing one-two in the last rookie vote, it's not as simple as banking on the horse with the most hype.
Here are five players who could emerge as next season's top freshman:
Dylan Strome
The third overall selection in the Connor McDavid-Jack Eichel draft, Strome will take his first strides as a professional next year, and presumably make his long-awaited debut for the Arizona Coyotes.
Strome returned to Major Junior after netting 129 points in his draft season, winning the Ontario Hockey League scoring title with 111 points and a 1.98 point-per-game production rate.
The Coyotes have two returning top-six centers, but are in no way indebted to Antoine Vermette or Martin Hanzal. Strome, who might have the highest ceiling among their collection of quality prospects, figures to have a highly productive debut season working out of Arizona's top six.
Jimmy Vesey
When Vesey finallyinks his first NHL contract, he'll have a host of factors in his favor as it pertains to making a mark as a rookie - many of which are the same variables that helped Panarin nab top rookie last season.
To wit, in successfully waiting out his former rights holder, David Poile and the Nashville Predators, the Harvard graduate will be five years older than the incoming rookie class. But his greatest advantage will be a luxury he's waited patiently to achieve: calling his own shot.
Werenski left Michigan at the end of his sophomore season to continue on his accelerated path to the NHL. And after making a seamless transition to the professional game, it appears his momentum will carry him to opening night with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The second defender chosen in last summer's draft pushed the Lake Erie Monsters over the top in their run to the Calder Cup title, providing five goals and 14 points in 17 postseason games.
Werenski's not expected to be an attacking force at the next level, at least not to a near point-per-game degree, but could immediately step into a top-four role on the Jackets' thin defense, and have a major impact next season.
Ivan Provorov
We'll see the next phase in Philadelphia's transition from an unimaginative, overpaid, and ineffective defense corps to leading light when it rolls out the decorated Ivan Provorov this season.
The displaced Russian has dominated at every level since coming to North America at 16 to entrench himself in the NHL brand - a decorated run that includes being named Canadian Major Junior's top defenseman this year.
He may not have a Gostisbehere-sized impact out the shoot, but will most certainly upgrade the unit as it continues to turn over.
Sebastian Aho
The understated fulcrum of Finland's mega-talented top line from the World Junior Championship, Aho may carry less hype, but could see his impact exceed that of Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi.
Carolina's second-round pick last summer outproduced the pair, scoring 20 goals and turning in a point-per-game average in his second season in Finland's top division.
Aho will be immediately thrust into a scoring function with the up-and-coming Canes, and should have a productive debut campaign that arrives relatively unannounced.
