Mr. Coyote: Arizona Set To Retire Shane Doan’s No.19 Jersey
The Arizona Coyotes officially announced that they will retire Shane Doan’s jersey during their upcoming season.
If you’re a fan of the Arizona Coyotes, you know that there’s one specific player that undoubtedly deserves any honor the franchise is willing to dole out. Obviously, that player is Shane Doan and on Wednesday, the Coyotes officially announced their plan to retire his jersey during the 2018-19 NHL season. The ceremony will take place before their game on February 24th.
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Doan, who wore No.19 throughout his entire career, was a holdover from the Winnipeg Jets before spending the rest of his career with the Coyotes. He will be the first Coyotes player to have their number retired at Gila River Arena. Fittingly, the ‘Yotes will be playing the Jets on the night of the ceremony.
In the Coyotes’ official press release, Coyotes’ President & CEO Ahron Cohen referred to Doan as “Mr. Coyote” and added that “no one has done more for the Coyotes or the game of hockey in Arizona than Shane.”
From 1996 until 2017, Doan suited up for the Coyotes 1,466 times — first with Phoenix and later, under the current Arizona Coyotes’ brand. Prior to 1996, he played one season with Winnipeg, bringing his career total to 1,540 games (No.14 on the NHL’s all-time list).
Besides all-time NHL rankings, Doan is the franchise’s leader in nearly everything: games played (1,540), goals (402), assists (570), points (972), power-play goals (128) and game-winning goals (69).
Few saw what Doan did in his career. From the lows of the mid-2000s to the team’s magical run to the 2011 Western Conference Finals, he was a fixture in Phoenix and the team’s captain. More importantly, the two-time NHL All-Star played the game the right way and did it while being a positive role model. Nothing proved this as much as when he was honored with the 2010 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, given to the NHL player who “best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice”.
In a video from Doan, posted to the Coyotes’ Twitter account, “Captain Coyote” called the event a “huge honor” and encouraged fans to come share the night with him and his family.
Although the announcement is only hours old, the ‘Yotes already have a special Twitter banner dedicated to the February 24th celebration.
Arizona opens up their regular season on October 4th at Dallas.