Coyotes' Shane Doan frustrated by late-season injury
Open ice during skates has become scarce for the Coyotes as the team has regularly added to its roster since the 23-man limit was lifted at the trade deadline last month.
Not all 27 players are among the healthy contingent available to play, but that number could also keep growing.
Center Alexander Burmistrov was back in the lineup Monday in the 4-1 loss to the Blues after missing nearly a month following an open-ice hit Feb. 28 that sent him to the hospital. Defenseman Kevin Connauton (upper-body injury) is close to resuming playing, and a return by center Brad Richardson hasn't been ruled out as he continues to skate after fracturing tibia and fibula bones in his right leg in mid-November.
MORE: Spotlight on Clayton Keller, rookies in Coyotes' loss to Blues
But one player who seems to be stuck in a holding pattern is captain Shane Doan.
The 40-year-old hasn’t played since leaving the March 16 game against the Red Wings with a lower-body injury, an issue that’s kept him out for six games.
This is Doan’s first absence of the season as he’d been able to dress for every game up to that point, but the timing of this setback stings as it’s late in a season that may be Doan’s last.
“Really, really frustrating,” he said recently. “Really frustrating.”
Although he was idle for all five games on the team’s now-completed road trip, Doan did get on the ice for almost all group skates.
He logged a lengthy morning skate Saturday in Washington D.C., and coach Dave Tippett said the team would get a better read on Doan’s status after he practiced Sunday in St. Louis. But Doan ended up sitting out the session, after which Tippett explained Doan was going to stay off the ice for a couple of days. The coach said he hoped the downtime would help, since Doan's recovery had stalled.
On Monday, though, Doan was back on the ice for an optional morning skate.
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“He’s realistic,” Tippett said. “You can play with an injury, but you can’t play when you’re hurt and he can’t function at the level he needs to. He understands that. He can be frustrated with it, but he knows he can’t contribute. He deals with it just like any other good pro. He deals with the injury. Hopefully he can get back in time to play some games.”
Tippett said he is confident Doan will return this season, but it’s hard to ignore the schedule. Arizona has just six games remaining entering its Wednesday game against St. Louis at Gila River Arena to complete a home-and-home series.
Doan's frustration is heightened by the uncertainty of his future, and he's yet to announce whether he plans to continue playing beyond this season.
“Right now I’m more focused on trying to get back to the next game,” he said. “But as a player, you’re always aware of the future and thinking about it. So it’s one of those things that when you’re not playing, you’re definitely thinking, ‘Oh, I want to play.’ ”
Being sidelined, however, hasn’t diminished Doan’s role as a leader. The Coyotes had every player, healthy or not, on their recent road trip to keep everyone involved. Doan has been able to be a role model for a young dressing room that became even younger with 18-year-old rookie Clayton Keller's debut on Monday.
“Just the way he treats people, the way he carries himself in the locker room, the way he prepares, all those things are all good lessons for young players,” Tippett said.
Whether Doan will be able to lead by example in a game before the season ends remains to be seen, but that answer appears likely to arrive sooner than Doan’s decision on his career as he still plans to reach a resolution once the schedule runs out.
“It’ll be well after the season,” he said. “I’ll have a talk obviously with our management, talk with them, my family, and go from there.”
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Wednesday's game
Blues at Coyotes
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Gila River Arena.
TV/radio: Fox Sports Arizona/KMVP-FM (98.7).
Blues update: The Blues’ top line shined in Monday’s 4-1 win over the Coyotes, combining for 10 points. Winger Jaden Schwartz had two goals and an assist, center Alexander Steen had a career-high four assists, and winger Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and two assists. Goalie Jake Allen is now 7-0 against the Coyotes in his career. He’s allowed only one goal in two matchups this season as he blanked the Coyotes March 18 in Arizona. The win improved the team to 26-9-3 when scoring first. St. Louis is 19-17-1 on the road.
