On July 1, the first day of NHL free agency, some 50 NHL players signed with new teams.
Three days later, the Minnesota Wild made the biggest splash of the summer by signing both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.
Now, nearly two weeks in, much of this summer's free agent shopping has been done, and that leaves teams with an ever-declining number of options, headlined by Phoenix Coyotes winger Shane Doan.
The question, however, is not just whether the 35-year-old Doan will leave the Arizona desert - where he's played since the team moved from Winnipeg in 1996 - but whether he should.
The 35-year-old Doan is planning to make a decision this coming Monday, July 16, as to whether he'll stay with the Coyotes or pursue a new home through free agency. He was originally planning to make his decision this past Monday - the day signatures were due on a petition to challenge the planned deal between the city of Glendale and former San Jose Sharks executive Greg Jamison - but while the attempt to put a referendum on the ballot in November's election seems destined for failure, Doan has not yet made a decision as to whether he'll stay in Phoenix.
In an era when July 1 sets of a frenzy of free-agent signings, there would certainly be something refreshing about Doan staying with the only franchise he's ever known for a 17th season (or more). At the same time, though, among the teams pursuing Doan - at least half the NHL, by some estimates - there are certainly better opportunities for him to win a Stanley Cup than he'll have in Phoenix.
There's certainly precedent for Doan to leave. In 2000, Ray Bourque engineered a trade from Boston, where he'd spent his entire 20 years in the NHL to that point, so that he could go to the Colorado Avalanche and chase a Stanley Cup. When he finally got it the following year, he celebrated in Boston, and the fact that he finished his career with another team hasn't made him any less of a Bruins legend. If Doan does the same, it's hard to imagine Coyotes fans begrudging him that kind of opportunity.
Arizona Republic columnist Dan Bickley wrote on Tuesday that Doan should "go if you must, even if it means returning in a Red Wings sweater. We'll understand."
It's sound advice, and well intentioned. But until Shane Doan tells us what's happening, there's no good way of knowing if he'll take it.
