How close are Shane Doan and the Arizona Coyotes to a deal, really?
The messages are mixed, even when you’re basing your judgments on Doan alone.
Craig Morgan provides an interesting update on the negotiations for 98.7 FM Arizona Sports, starting off with the positives: Doan believes the two sides are close enough that he’s “not worrying about other teams.”
His agent seems to contradict the notion that the two sides are close, however, and it sounds like the haggling isn’t over.
“I feel the market that is set for me is different from what they think the market is and that’s really the extent of it,” Doan said. “They’re not budging and I’m not budging, but nobody’s mad at each other. We just have a different view. They’re saying ‘you’re a 40-year old player. There’s not really a market for you.’ I’m saying, ‘I led the team in goal scoring. There is a market for that.’”
Hmm.
On one hand, it’s easy to understand why the long-tenured Jets-Coyotes fixture would want to stick with the only team he’s known for decades.
On the other, wouldn’t those other teams provide a gauge for the market value that the two sides can’t seem to agree upon? It sounds like he might have had some offers to sort through during the Friday Frenzy:
Per source, UFA Shane Doan has "several offers" but is focused on working out deal w/Coyotes. However, it's not fair to say a deal is close.
— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) July 2, 2016
To be more specific, Doan said he received 12 offers with three being “substantial.”
You would think that the two sides could meet somewhere in the middle and find a compromise. Still, you never know when “We’re not mad at each other” will turn into “Yeah, we’re mad at each other.”