Earlier today, Brough wrote about Arizona captain Shane Doan being less than thrilled with his team’s deadline moves, saying a rebuild “was not my idea,” and “not my ideal situation.”
Today, Coyotes GM Don Maloney offered his take on things.
“I get it, I understand it, but we’re not in the Girl Scout business,” Maloney said, per Arizona Sports. “We’re in the business of winning. That’s why we’re here, that’s why we’re getting paid.
“Shane’s a pro, he’ll get through it, he’ll understand it when he sees where this can take us.”
Maloney said that Doan was “shaken” by the Keith Yandle trade, adding “it hit him hard.” The two had been together in Arizona for the last nine years and while many -- Doan included -- figured pending UFAs Antoine Vermette and Zbynek Michalek would be out the door, moving Yandle wasn’t a given; he’s under contract for one more season and, at just 28 years old, could’ve been part of Arizona’s rebuild if he chose to re-sign.Doan said, “huge mixed emotions.” Said tough for Yandle to leave friends behind and, “He took a lot of responsibility with this team.”
— Sarah McLellan (@azc_mclellan) March 3, 2015
But Yandle and Vermette and Michalek are all now gone, leaving Doan as one of the few left standing. To put it in perspective, eight of the key veterans from Arizona’s run to the 2012 Western Conference Final -- Yandle, Vermette, Michalek, Radim Vrbata, Raffi Torres, Daymond Langkow, Ray Whitney, Rostislav Klesla -- are no longer with the team.
Maloney acknowledged all of this is tough on Doan, but said it shouldn’t prevent him from providing leadership during what promises to be some trying times.
“We still need leadership and how we’re going to play in this organization, but you can’t deny that he was pretty shook up the last couple days seeing very good friends and teammates that had survived the ‘war’, so to speak, over the last four or five years here,” Maloney explained. “To see them head out the door, it was tough for him.”