On Monday, Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports confirmed that the Arizona Coyotes have agreed to terms on a one-year deal to bring back center Shane Doan.
A former 7th overall pick in the 1995 draft by the then-Winnipeg Jets, Doan will return for his 21st season with the franchise. Doan became a free agent earlier this off-season after his four-year contract expired on July 1st. However, it was believed that first-year GM John Chayka would come to terms with the team’s captain- a cornerstone of the franchise for the last two decades.
Craig Morgan took to Twitter to break the news shortly after midnight ET (Tuesday):
BREAKING: Shane Doan and the #Coyotes agree on 1-year deal, reports @craigsmorgan https://t.co/NpjAVRB1qD
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) July 12, 2016
While terms of the deal were not initially disclosed, Morgan later reported that a source revealed that the deal was worth $2.5 million in base salary with deferred bonuses and other deferred incentives bringing the deal to $5 million.
Doan, 39, holds the Coyotes franchise records for games played (1,466), goals (396), points (945) and power-play goals (125). During the 2015-16 regular season, Doan paced the Coyotes with 28 goals and finished third with 47 points in 72 games.
Morgan reported that earlier this off-season, Doan helped the Coyotes sign free-agent defenseman Alex Goligoski to a five-year contract after selling him on the franchise. The Coyotes will enter the 2016-17 season seeking to build upon its 78-point, 10th-place finish in the Western Conference during the 2015-16 regular season.