Unless there are some almost immediate changes, the Phoenix Coyotes will be without a captain, perhaps only for a brief time, but they will be captainless nonetheless, as it appears Shane Doan will dip his toes in the pool that is NHL free agency come July 1.

Some will say Doan will still be the captain of the Phoenix hockey club and I guess on paper that would be true. The team’s not going to strip the “C” from the sweater of the player that has been a loyal solider for so very long. But make no mistake he will be a free agent on July 1 and as such he will not be beholden to any team. Doan will be free to sign his name to any contract offer that comes across the desk of his agent.

I would expect there will be offers for his services. The pickings are pretty slim this year as far as talented free agents are concerned and as far as free agents with proven leadership skills that are still productive, Doan is one of only a few of those that will be available.

At this point everyone is saying what is expected of them, Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney, is saying that he is optimistic the team can keep Doan in the fold and Doan is saying he wants to remain with the team, but really what else would you expect from either side? Maloney surely wants Doan back and Doan, even if he knows he is going to walk has been nothing but the good solider for many years, why would he burn bridges? 

One does have to wonder what is going to happen in this situation. The Coyotes sale is held up, the team, despite what attendance during the 2012 playoffs would lead you to believe, is not a draw and this season was the first time Doan has made it past the first round of the playoffs. 

Let’s face it, for a player of Doan’s credentials, the grass really will be greener on the other side, especially since he gets to choose the locale of that grass.

Doan has never been a selfish player, but it’s time for him to be one now. He needs to thank the fans of the Coyotes franchise for supporting him for so long and they, even more so, need to thank him for everything he has done for them and then he needs to leave the desert.

No one will fault him, no one will blame him and he deserves better, he’s played 1198 regular season games for the Coyotes and only 55 playoff games. Doan need to chase the Stanley Cup and the only place he is going to be able to do that is outside Phoenix.

It’s now or never for Shane Doan. There’s no way he should pull a Coyotes sweater over his head when the 2013 NHL season begins.