Coyotes owner: 'Not offering Doan a contract was the right hockey decision'

Arizona Coyotes owner Andrew Barroway stands by his verdict not to offer the organization's most storied player a new contract this summer.

"Not offering Doan a contract was the right hockey decision," he said at a press conference, per AZ Central's Sarah McLellan.

Doan had spent his entire 21-year NHL career with the Jets/Coyotes franchise, but with Arizona going through a rebuild and attempting to get younger, its brass decided it was no longer in the team's best interest to bring back their 40-year-old captain.

Coming off a season of just six goals, 21 assists, and a Corsi For percentage of 47.8, it doesn't take an analytics expert to tell you Doan's on-ice effectiveness is waning.

Barroway does regret the way he handled the situation, though. He apologized to both Doan and Coyotes fans for how he handled the captain's exit, stating he should have flown out to meet with Doan face to face in order to deliver the news, according to McLellan and Arizona Sports' Craig Morgan.

The free-agent market hasn't been kind to veteran wingers like Doan thus far, as Jarome Iginla, Jaromir Jagr, and Brian Gionta also remain without contracts for the upcoming season.