Shea Weber and Rick Nash already know where they’ll be playing next year, but unrestricted free agent Shane Doan is yet to sign a contract.
He visited with the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers in late July, then went north of the border to see the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday and is heading to Montreal this week as well. Mike Harrington wrote last week that Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier would be “pulling a major rabbit out of his hat” to land either Doan or Bobby Ryan, which Regier spoke to Wednesday morning at Pat Kaleta’s news conference.
“No, we have not met with [Doan], and I don’t know whether we will meet with him,” Regier said, well-versed in general manager lingo. “We’re monitoring the situation, and I’d leave it at that.”
Doan's agent, Terry Bross, told Harrington he had had several conversations with the Sabres, but Regier said there is still no meeting scheduled between the sides.
“What I would say about Shane’s situation is that I admire the level of loyalty he’s provided to his club,” Regier said. “He’s spent his whole career with that organization, and I think that’s meaningful, and I admire that, but in the event he’s not going to stay there, we certainly would have an interest.”
Doan, a 35-year-old winger with 16 NHL seasons under his belt, has been with the Phoenix Coyotes for their entire history, coming along when the team moved from Winnipeg following his rookie year. But with the team’s ownership still in question, he’d like reassurance the team will remain in Glendale, Ariz., which he may not get.
Regier also spoke on the contract negotiations with Tyler Ennis, who’s slotted to center one of the top two lines this year.
“We spoke with his agent yesterday (Tuesday) and I think that will continue today,” Regier said. “That’s always a hard one [to say how close the sides are]. Close. … The positive is it’s moving in the right direction.”
---Nick Veronica
Twitter: @NickVeronica
