Welcome to LWOS Hockey’s summer series, Call to the Hall, where we take a look at the next great player from each NHL franchise to get called to the Hockey Hall of Fame. There are a few caveats, the player must be active, and must have played 300 games (or 150 for goaltenders) with the franchise.
Check out the previous Call to the Hall articles HERE.
Call to the Hall: Arizona Coyotes
When it comes to the Arizona Coyotes franchise, which includes the formerly-defunct Winnipeg Jets branch, there are several long-serving Coyotes/Jets alumni that could be considered potential Hall of Fame candidates. Defenseman Teppo Numminen served 15 years with the organization, posting a career-high 51 points in 82 games with the Coyotes, during the 1997-98 season. Thomas Steen was selected 103rd overall in the 1979 draft and played 14 seasons, all with the Jets, while posting 817 points in 950 career games. However, this series is based on players that are currently still active, and that means there is one player that jumps to mind; Shane Doan.
Shane Doan
Doan was an established name in the Western Hockey League, winning the Memorial Cup as a member of the1994-95 Kamloops Blazers, and also being named the MVP of the tournament. This came after a 94-point performance during the regular season, and it would be the team’s second Memorial Cup victory in two years. Drafted in the first round, seventh overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1995 draft, Doan would become the very last player to go to Winnipeg as a first-round pick, prior to the franchise’s relocation to Phoenix. Doan played in the final season in Winnipeg, appearing in 74 games, scoring 7 goals and finishing with 17 points. His first goal came against the Chicago Blackhawks’ Ed Belfour and his second goal, a memorable one, came in the same game, serving as the game-winner. Doan was also the very last player to score a goal as a member of the first incarnation of the Jets, when he sealed the game-winning goal in a 5-3 victory, securing a playoff spot.
Following the move to Phoenix, Doan played in the first full season in the new city, although his ice-time had been low and his point totals dropped from his rookie season. The following season, he split the year with the Coyotes and their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons. After receiving under 13 minutes of ice-time per game in the 1998-99 season and scoring just 6 goals and 16 points, Doan broke out of his shell the following year, scoring 26 goals and finishing with 51 points. It marked the first season Doan broke the 20-goal plateau, scoring more goals than the previous three and a half seasons combined. He would equal that goal total the following season, improving his point total to 63 and averaging nearly three minutes more of ice time.
After scoring 41 goals in the next two seasons combined, Doan assumed the role of captain on the team following the departure of defenseman Numminen. Scoring a then-career-high 27 goals, Doan received an All-Star nod, appearing in his first All-Star game, at the age of 28. He would continue to shine as one of the Coyotes best players in the following season, breaking the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career and finishing with 66 points, despite averaging two minutes less than the previous season.
His role as captain and leader of the team showed at both ends of the ice, as Doan has been deployed in defensive-zone starts more often than not throughout his career, yet continued to put up good possession numbers and point totals to showcase his two-way ability. He continued to score goals too; nearing 30 in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, Doan broke the 30-goal plateau for the second (and last time) in his career in 2008-09. He also received another All-Star appearance and would win the shoot-out drill during the skills competition, edging out then-Boston Bruins forward Marc Savard. Although his point production dropped by almost 20 points in the following season, scoring 18 goals, Doan was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for exemplifying leadership qualities on and off the ice. It marked the first time in the Coyotes history where a player was awarded a trophy. Dave Tippett also became the second coach in the franchise’s history to win the Jack Adams Trophy for the league’s best head coach in the 2009-10 season.
The Phoenix Coyotes had their struggles in making the post-season, and doing something remarkable once they finally got there, but the 2011-12 season saw them reach the Western Conference Final, a first in their history. Doan, leading his team on the ice, scored 5 goals and 9 points in 16 games, tying him for second on the team with defenseman Keith Yandle, and one point behind center Antoine Vermette. It also marked the Coyotes single-best regular season record and earned Doan his second individual trophy, as the recipient of the Mark Messier Leadership Award. Since then, the Coyotes have failed to make the dance in the last three seasons.
Doan has reached the 20-goal mark once since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, averaging under 19 minutes a game in each of those three seasons. Heading into his 20th season with the very same franchise that drafted him, the now-branded Arizona Coyotes, Doan leads all Coyotes/Jets players in most career-games played with 1,315 and sits second in goals (354) and points (862) behind Dale Hawerchuk, and third in assists (508) behind Hawerchuk and Thomas Steen.
Internationally, Doan has his list of accomplishments. It got off to a rocky start, as the 1999 World Championship held in Norway saw Team Canada finish in fourth place. In 2003, Doan captured his first gold medal, in Finland, at the World Championship. He was named the captain of Team Canada for the following tournament, but could not attend due to injury. He did, however, compete in the 2004 World Cup, scoring the game-winning goal in the final game to secure his second international gold medal. In 2005, Doan served as an alternate captain, as the team won silver in Austria.
In World Hockey Championship competition, Doan served as Team Canada’s captain for the 2007, 2008 and 2009 tournaments, winning one gold (2007) and two silvers (2008, 2009). Doan was also a member of the 2006 Winter Olympics team, which sparked controversy with now-Mayor of Montreal Denis Corderre, who accused the Coyotes forward of using a derogatory term towards a Francophone referee during a game against he Montreal Canadiens in December 2005. The two would settle the issue outside of the courts in 2010.
Small controversy aside, Shane Doan has done almost everything he can as a member of the Coyotes franchise. While he’s never been a superstar, point-per-game player, he has remained a consistent face in the history of the Jets and Coyotes, winning several awards, international success and single-season records. Although he’ll enter his second decade with the team without a Stanley Cup ring, he leads all Coyotes players in total games played and is top-three in goals, assists and points, putting him right up there with several players that are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, or at the very least have had their numbers honored by the franchise.
On the active roster today, there is not one member of the Coyotes team that deserves to see their name inducted into the Hall of Fame more than the current captain and face of the team, Shane Doan. In fact, he will go down as one of the best players in the franchise’s history.
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