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Agent: Shane Doan ‘leaning toward playing’ one more season

Minnesota Wild v Arizona Coyotes

GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 08: Shane Doan #19 of the Arizona Coyotes awaits a face off during the second period of the NHL game against the Minnesota Wild at Gila River Arena on April 8, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Wild defeated the Coyotes 3-1. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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Arizona Coyotes forward Shane Doan has yet to make a final decision on whether or not he will return for a 22nd NHL season, but his agent said on Wednesday that he thinks the 40-year-old winger is “leaning toward” coming back for one more season.

“I think he’s going to play,” said Terry Bross, Doan’s agent, via Craig Morgan of Arizonasports.com. “His body feels good, he loves the game and he loves the players.”

Doan has spent his entire career with the Coyotes organization (including one season in Winnipeg before it relocated to Phoenix) and is the franchise’s all-time leader in pretty much every major category, including games played (1,540), goals (402), assists (570), total points (972), even-strength goals (268), power play goals (128) and shots on goals (3,945).

He took on a significantly reduced role this past season, averaging just 15 minutes of ice-time per game. He scored six goals to go with 21 assists in 74 games.

Doan will be eligible for unrestricted free agency on July 1 if he decides to return. He played on a one-year contract this past season that paid him $3.876 million (via CapFriendly).

Given his age, he type of workload he has taken on during his career (not only a lot of games, but a grueling, physical style of play) and how much his production regressed this past season expectations probably shouldn’t be overly high if he does come back for another season. On the other hand, he is just one year removed from scoring 28 goals in the NHL at the age of 39. If given the right usage (limited minutes where he can play to his strengths, such as a net-front power play presence) he might still have a little something to offer.