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Shane Doan’s decision down to Coyotes vs. Canucks, according to report

Greg Wyshynski

Shane Doan and his agent indicated that the unrestricted free agent would make a decision on a new deal before the CBA's expiration on Sept. 15, a.k.a. Saturday.

Would it be to remain with the Phoenix Coyotes, the only franchise he's known in the NHL? Or would the team's murky future in Glendale force him to sign elsewhere?

According to John Gambadoro, a sports host on Sports 620 KTAR Phoenix:

It is down two - Phoenix and Vancouver. Coyotes Captain Shane Doan will sign a contract deciding where he will play by 5 pm NY time Friday.

The hangup with Doan signing with Phoenix is that the City of Glendale has reneged on its original lease agreement deal with Greg Jamison. Glendale is looking to rework the lease agreement deal that was agreed to and that hangup is causing a delay in the purchase.

Doan has a deal in place with GM Don Maloney and the Coyotes, but signing that deal was contingent on potential owner Greg Jamison finalizing a lease agreement with Glendale. The city wants to change the terms of that lease, but the Phoenix Business Journal is optimistic that the sale of the team could close as early as this week.

But if it doesn't, and Doan isn't sure that Jamison will eventually own the team, then it appears the Vancouver Canucks will be his next NHL destination.

They've been in the mix for Doan since July, as his wife is originally from Kamloops, B.C.

What would Doan mean to the Canucks? From Wyatt Arndt from the Legion of Blog:

For the fans of the Canucks, Shane Doan represents a potential final piece of the Stanley Cup puzzle. I don't know if many of you remember this, but back in 2011 the Vancouver Canucks almost won the Stanley Cup, before losing to some team from Boston was it? Well, many years have passed, and it has left many fans wanting another shot at eternal glory. And by glory I mean good glory, not the Sean Bean glory where he dies in a heroic scene, just short of victory. Vancouver doesn't want to be Sean Bean anymore. So any news of Shane Doan signing with a team will catch the interest of any Canucks fan.

Doan is that prototypical veteran power forward the Canucks have lacked for years: a player who ups his game in the postseason, leads by example and plays with a physical snarl. The "final piece of the puzzle" thing isn't hyperbole.

If it is indeed down to the Coyotes and the Canucks, one assumes Doan would fit under the cap via a Roberto Luongo trade, seeing as how Vancouver is just over $2.4 million under the current cap.

But, in the end, it could still be the Coyotes. He's waited this long for a reason — his heart's in Glendale.