Coyotes to retire Shane Doan’s No. 19 ‘at a time that’s right for him’

It’s rare for a player to stay with one team for an entire career, but Shane Doan has done just that. He played his rookie season with the Winnipeg Jets in 1995-96 before the franchise moved to Phoenix, where his impact is still tremendous.

For the first time since moving to Arizona in 1996, the Coyotes will take the ice without captain Shane Doan this season. But according to team owner Andrew Barroway, no other Coyotes player will wear his No. 19.

Speaking at a team town hall meeting with fans on Saturday, Barroway said they will retire Doan’s number “at a time that’s right for him.”

Barroway said that it’s too early to retire his number this season but the team will look into it more next summer, according to Sarah McLellan of AZCentral Sports.

Doan retired in August after the Coyotes announced they would not be renewing his contract earlier in the summer. At the time, Doan was not pleased with how the Coyotes had handled his release, telling McLellan in June that he “had been corporately fired.”

Barroway apologized publicly to Doan in July and on Saturday he said the team’s relationship with him was on the upswing.

“The relationship with Shane Doan has improved,” Barroway said. “We’ve reached out. We’ve spoken with Shane. Everyone loves him. He’s a class act, great guy.”

Doan played 1,540 games, all with the Coyotes-Winnipeg Jets franchise. He was named team captain in 2003 and finished his career with 402 goals and 972 points.

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