Coyotes' Fans Should Thank Team Canada for Doan Snub

(Article Originally Written for Fanster.com) 

A lot has been made about the fact that the Phoenix Coyotes’ forward Shane Doan was left off the Team Canada roster. Instead of looking at it as a snub, Coyotes’s fans should be looking at it as a gift.

Doan, the thirty-three year old three-time Canadian captain, was a casualty of Team Canada’s executive director of Steve Yzerman desire to have a younger team. That’s right, according to Yzerman thirty-three is old–no wonder why my wife is freaking out about turning thirty in three years– although the thirty-six year old defense-man Scott Niedermayer is a fit for the team.

Like the striped socks you got for christmas, overlooking Doan may seem like a insult but it really is a gift (believe me when you haven’t done laundry in two weeks those socks will prove to be very useful and clean).

With the Coyotes in the midst of their best season since 2002, it’s better for “Captain Coyote” to have the extended Olympic break to rest than bust his tail to win gold for our friends from the north. Doan has played 836 games over the last ten and a half seasons, not including the games played for team Canada. That’s more wear and tear on Doan than a Las Vegas stripper.

With goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov (Russia), defensemen Zbynek Michalek (Czech Republic) and Sami Lepisto (Finland) all playing for their home countries and risking injury, the Coyotes can’t afford having their captain risking injury too.

The Coyotes have a chance to bounce back from the brink of extinction, make the Valley take notice and shift their focus to the West Valley. A healthy and rested Shane Doan is a key part to making that happen.

A strong playoff run can change everything for a wayward franchise. All the Coyotes have to do is look to their Glendale neighbor for proof.