Shane Doan and the unattainable Stanley Cup
In 2004 and 2006, Dave Andreychuk and Rod Brind’Amour got their rings and storybook endings to their careers, but it isn’t like that for each and every quality and worthy NHLer.
There are several stars that never won a Stanley Cup.
Immediately Mats Sundin and Trevor Linden come to mind as long-time captains of decent teams who fell short. Sundin scored over 500 goals, but never one in the Final. Trevor Linden scored 12 goals and 13 assists to take the Canucks within one game of the Stanley Cup in 1994, but the ending wasn’t so sweet.
Inversely, Cristobal Huet, the back-up for the Chicago Blackhawks during their 2010 run, “earned” a ring for playing 20 minutes of playoff hockey. To his credit, he did sport a perfect 1.000 save percentage on three shots.
The NHL is a fickle place, and few players are a lock to win the Cup.
Look no further than Shane Doan, a player that will likely retire without a Stanley Cup – even though he deserves to hoist the Cup more than most.
Doan, 34, has played his entire career with the Phoenix Coyotes organization, totaling 1,158 games. Playing in some half-empty rinks, Doan has scored 20-plus goals for nine consecutive seasons. The Halkirk, Alberta native even had two straight 70 point campaigns from 2007-2009.
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The points aren’t as sexy as Joe Thornton’s totals — who would be a worthy runner-up to Doan in terms of great active players missing a ring — but what sets Doan apart is his leadership ability. Under his captaincy, the Coyotes improved from 67 points in 2006-07 to 107 points in 2009-2010, even with bankruptcy procedures and unstable ownership consistently pulling their mindsets in multiple directions.
The ultra-determined right winger always leads by example and is a player who leaves it all out on the ice. Along with Ilya Bryzgalov and Keith Yandle, he carried the Coyotes to the playoffs in 2010-11.
The season prior they took the Detroit Red Wings to Game 7, and while they were recently swept, it wasn’t because of a lack of effort from Doan. He notched five points during the four-game series.
Internationally, his revered leadership earned him the Canadian captaincy at the 2007 World Championships, a tournament he’s represented his homeland in five times, winning two gold medals. He’s only been selected to the Olympic roster once — the 2006 disaster in Turin. Unfortunately for Doan, he missed an opportunity to play for gold in Vancouver.
It would be a spectacular sight to see if Doan were rewarded with a premier professional hockey championship, although he is the only NHLer to have beaten Mantracker so he’s got that to fall back on.
While he’s of a gritty breed, Doan’s name is not synonymous with the stigma “dirty player.” He acquired his first suspension in his 14th season, a three-gamer for a hit on Ducks forward Dan Sexton, which was debated by hockey fans and insiders alike.
While the ‘Yotes have made marvelous regular season strides the last two seasons, they’re still not ready to compete for the Cup. Had the 2010-11 postseason gone differently — and had the world not completely distracted the team with the relocation talk — a discussion surrounding Phoenix’s progression would be in order.
But, the fact of the matter is that, relocation or not, Arizona’s NHL franchise took a step backwards this spring, as their four-game sweep confirmed that they aren’t in the NHL’s elite group just yet.
The most plausible scenario for Doan appearing in the next version of “Cup Raise” would be for him to get the Ray Bourque treatment and get traded to a contender. However, it’s Doan’s loyalty to one franchise, through thick and thin, bankruptcy and white outs that makes him so endearing to fans.
At the end of the day, his staying in the desert, or wherever the team winds up, will earn him a lot more respect than Marian Hossa’s three contenders in three years plan.
Plus, he is, of course, the last true Winnipeg Jet – which, much like his Mantracker expedition, counts for something.
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