1,000 Games and Counting for Shane Doan

A special piece of Phoenix Coyotes history will be honored tonight as Coyotes captain Shane Doan plays his 1,000th career NHL game.

What is more remarkable in today’s demanding world of free agency and trades, all 1,000 career games have been with the Winnipeg Jets and the Phoenix Coyotes.

The 33-year-old Doan, who is the second all-time leader in games played for the Coyotes, has spent his entire 14-year career with the same team that drafted him with the seventh overall pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.

While his name might be known well on the east coast, those who have seen him play have honored his loyalty throughout his career.

Doan has endured the good times and some rough seasons during his career with the Coyotes. He's been a part of six playoff teams and is anticipating a seventh playoff run this season if Phoenix continues its roll.

However, despite being a part of six playoff teams, Doan has also been through eight not-so-great seasons with the Coyotes. Doan has been through coaches who were supposed to change the hockey landscape in Phoenix—most notably NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky. However, at the end of the day it was Shane Doan who was left skating in Phoenix all 999 games.

At the conclusion of tonight’s game against Columbus, Doan will join a fraternity of 42 hockey players who have played in 1,000 career games in the NHL, 24 of whom, like himself, have done so with the same team that drafted them.  

Doan will certainly have his jersey retired when he decides to call it a career, and while he's 33 years old, he looks to have a lot more games to play. By next season, if he continues to stay healthy, he will pass former teammate Teppo Numminen for most career games played as a member of the Jets-Coyotes organization.

This season, the Coyotes have become the talk of the NHL. After filing for bankruptcy back in the May and the uncertainty of where they would play this season, the Coyotes returned to Phoenix for what has been a Cinderella season for the young team.

However, the Coyotes are far more than a fairy tale—they are a dream come true.

Last week, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly announced the proposed sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to Ice Edge Holdings. Ice Edge looks to keep Shane Doan and the Coyotes in Phoenix where Doan is only 35 away from his 300th career goal.