If there is to be a "Shane Doan Sweepstakes," Larry Brooks of the New York Post has identified the three top contestants for the services of the Phoenix Coyotes captain.
In his Sunday column, Brooks - who covers the New York Rangers and the NHL for the Post - wrote on Sunday that the three teams who have the best chance at landing Doan - besides the Coyotes, who are being given every chance to retain the face of their franchise - are the Rangers, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vancouver Canucks. Doan has met with both the Rangers and the Canucks, and is expected to meet with Pittsburgh at some point before making his decision.
Brooks also writes that if the Rangers are willing to offer Doan a four-year contract - the length the 16-year NHL veteran is reportedly seeking - then they will be the favorite to land Doan if he opts to leave Phoenix. There's a measure of sense to that, since Doan's motivation for departing the desert is the pursuit of a Stanley Cup, and the Rangers have positioned themselves to challenge for the Cup in the next two seasons with the acquisition of Rick Nash to play up front with the likes of Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik and Derek Stepan, in front of an outstanding young defensive corps and the reigning Vezina Trophy winner in Henrik Lundqvist.
Of course, the Canucks are expected to contend for the Cup in their own right next season, but the Canucks face a handicap in the form of the salary cap. With just $2.5 million in space under the salary cap, Vancouver doesn't have room to sign Doan without the trade of Roberto Luongo and his $5.3 million cap hit. Since Canucks GM Mike Gillis is taking his time with the trade for Luongo, Vancouver may not be in position to compete with the Rangers and Penguins...at least, not on Doan's schedule.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, can't be written off as a contender. The Penguins may not have scored a coup on the trade or free agent market this summer - as the Rangers did by landing Nash or as Vancouver did by signing Jason Garrison - but they're certainly planning on getting more than 22 games from Sidney Crosby in 2012-13, which makes for a formidable addition in and of itself (not that anything is guaranteed). The Penguins also have plenty of cap room and lots of Stanley Cup experience on the roster, so they should be considered contender's for Doan's services until he signs elsewhere.
The Rangers, however, may have the greatest need. With Gaborik, Lundqvist, captain Ryan Callahan, and All-Star defenseman Dan Girardi all due to become unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2014, the Rangers have gone into a decided "Win Now" mode, and while that doesn't mean throwing lots of money around just to spend money, it could mean going the extra mile to bring in a top-six forward with veteran presence like Doan. Add in the fact that Gaborik is due to miss at least the first month of the season as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery, and the need for an additional offensive threat should become even greater.
Of course, there's plenty of speculation to go around as it pertains to Doan. The San Jose Sharks have been rumored to be among the favorites as well, and there's a school of thought that says that if Doan was going to leave Phoenix, he'd have done so already. However, Brooks is one of the best reporters covering the NHL, and the idea of Doan choosing between Pittsburgh, New York and Vancouver should he leave Phoenix sounds about right.
As to whether the Rangers are the leaders, however, that will remain to be seen.
