Canucks assistant GM Laurence Gilman has confirmed his club’s interest in signing unrestricted free agent Shane Doan.
“I have spoken to Shane Doan on behalf of our organization a couple of times,” Gilman told the Vancouver Sun Monday. “I spoke with him on July 1 to express our interest in bringing him to Vancouver and subsequently followed up with Shane last night. I know from my experience in Phoenix that he has been interested in Vancouver in the past. He’s a western Canadian guy whose wife is from Kamloops. So I think there is interest there. I had productive discussions with both Shane and his agent.”
Whether the Canucks are willing to give Doan, 35, a three- or four-year contract will be interesting to see. They didn’t want to sign defenseman Sami Salo, 37, for more than one year and watched him walk away to Tampa Bay.
“For players over 35, it’s very dangerous territory,” GM Mike Gillis said. “If anything happens it counts against your cap. We were comfortable going one year at a time with Sami.”