Captain Coyote: Shane Doan Calls it a Career

2004, the World Cup of Hockey. The first in nearly a decade. Team Canada was looking for redemption after falling to the US in 1996. They met the ever pesky Finns in the final and as is usually the case it was nail biter. The teams traded goals and at 2-2 heading to the final period everything was on the line. Then, almost before you could sip your beer, Shane Doan made a great move in front to bury an incredible Joe Thornton pass that proved to be the winner as Canada once again reigned atop the hockey world. This was the biggest goal Shane Doan ever scored and when asked about it afterwards, guy he is, the credit and moment was all about the team.

Few athletes have meant as much in recent history to their franchise as Shane Doan. In fact, if you ask many, the Coyotes would've moved on one of the, well actually, I've lost count of how many times they've appeared headed for relocation, if not for his leadership and commitment to keeping them in the desert. When men like John McCain and Larry Fitzgerald are saying you're among the best leaders they've met, you've done something right. And Doan always seemed to say the right thing, taking home the Mark Messier leadership award in 2012 for his efforts. Even if I personally disagree that the franchise is better off where it is than say, Quebec City Doan was always there for the organisation and the community. His commitment to this new found home was unquestioned and he enjoyed every aspect of what if offered.

The last remaining player from the original Winnipeg Jets, his 21 years with the franchise has seen Doan hold team records in a number of offensive categories. He was the consummate professional and a leader on and off the ice. While relocating from hockey mad Winnipeg to Phoenix must have felt like being shipped off to the basement, Doan helped the franchise create a loyal, all be it small, band of fans who embraced them thanks in large part to his constant, workman like effort and easy going nature with media and fans. Auston Matthews among others is in no doubt a byproduct of this. Doan was a two time all star, a King Clancy Trophy winner and also represented team Canada on a number of occasions. With all his success he stayed loyal to the team through some lean years and saw it  have some unexpected runs in the post season as well. The last few years have seen the Coyotes struggle in rebuild mode, and there's little doubt he was asked to waive his no trade clause. However, he has established his family there and couldn't see himself playing for another team. Whether or not that was the wisest decision, we may never know, but you can't fault the guy for wanting to stick it out with the only team he's ever known and believing that he can help them.

This is why it was surprising for so many that the announcement that he wouldn't be resigned came with about as much ceremony as you would announce hiring a new janitor. The team issued a press release but there was little said or done until the other day when he officially announced his retirement. The team then stepped up and made a more formal show of things, and will no doubt be honouring him at some point this season, but one could safely assume there were still some hard feelings. No matter the circumstance though, Doan will be remembered for his compete level on the ice and being the face of the organisation and hockey in Arizona.

The next question is does he don the Maple Leaf again, perhaps even the C, for Team Canada at the upcoming Olympics in Korea. His former teammate Sean Burke is running the team and could use his leadership. Doan was on the 2006 Canadian team (the less we say about it the better...) And when you think about the opportunity, how many guys get to cap their career with a gold medal?

Pride of the Pontiac: A Farewell to Bryan Murray

In the Ottawa Valley hockey's more than jut part of everyday life and Bryan Murray was as synonymous with the game as anyone this area's ever known. The guy from Shawville rose from the ranks of the Pontiac and Ottawa Valley minor systems to coach and manage at the highest level. He put his hometown on the map, in his usual humble manner, and never forgot his roots.

I had the good fortune of meeting him several times, my mom runs a charitable foundation back home in the Ottawa Valley and he and his wife Geri were its honorary heads. This simple, meaningful gesture reflected the kind of people they are and their commitment to the people and area they called home. They attended a handful of events over the years and there was always an excitement when we knew he was coming to town. Everyone wanted to hear him speak. He had a way of making you feel connected to the big time, if only for that evening.

Bryan would hold court at these gatherings, always happy to answer any questions, and his legendary wit was as fast as today's game and as biting as ours winters, but  never came across as mean spirited. His captive audience clung to every word about the players and league we so greatly admire. With every joke and incredible story you understood just how much he'd accomplished. Here was someone living for what many of us was a dream, but he never lorded that over you. He simply spoke matter of factly and just genuinely seemed like a guy who loved what he was doing. He was a favourite of local coverage on TSN or national shows like Hockey Central at Noon & Hockey Night in Canada because of his insightful, straightforward manner. He was well respected in hockey circles far and wide as evident from the tributes pouring in from across the globe. They respected him as a colleague and his players understood what was expected of them, often being told so in no uncertain terms.

Bryan was said to be direct and honest, and was held in the highest regard for it. He showed his players the same courtesy and more often than not they responded. He guided a lot of great players to a lot of great seasons but it was the personal nature, how much he cared that stood out. Little things like making sure he could work out a deal for Mike Fisher to be closer to new wife Carrie Underwood in Nashville, (Bryan claimed trading him was one of the hardest things he ever had to do) or how much you could tell it pained him to see Daniel Alfredsson leave for Detroit. People were important to Bryan as he was to them, and he managed them as human beings, not dollar signs or pieces of a puzzle. Not as something expendable to be marketed or exploited. Those who knew him would tell you he was as competitive as anyone you'd ever met (often peppering officials with what my grandma refers to as 'salty' language') he simply got the bigger picture. Friends and family were not simply words to be paid lip service to. That fire continued to burn as he was part of the Sens organisation until not long before his passing.

When he joined the Sens in 2005, they were among the leagues best teams but Bryan brought with him a confidence the team and organisation sorely needed. This was a team used to expectations and he embraced them, along with the renewed excitement his arrival heralded. He guided them to the 2007 Stanley Cup Final, still the high watermark for the franchise, only to lose, ironically to a team in the Anaheim Ducks he had built. In the years following he took on a management roll with the club eventually stepping aside, sadly because his deteriorating health forced him to. His love of the game was ever present. Bryan's journey in the NHL took him all across the continent, from Washington, to Detroit, Florida to Anaheim, but he would return to a special place year after year, as is often the case with home. This community and the Sens organisation are better off for having had him and learning from the example he set, not just from a hockey sense but as an individual. He will be remembered as a class act and a man of his convictions. While he was never able to bring that elusive cup home, no one tried harder or cared more.