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Thursday, August 09, 2012

Obstacles Emerging in Shane Doan Negotiations

Posted at 07:00 AM

While the New York Rangers remain the favorites to snag free agent winger Shane Doan before the summer of 2012 comes to a close, there are more and more obstacles beginning to formulate that have not been addressed (at least not on this blog) as of yet. 

The first, which is an issue that was faintly reported on originally but has now become a larger concern for sure, is the length of the contract which Doan is seeking. The Rangers have allegedly put a three-year offer on the table for the former Phoenix Coyote, but Doan is, in fact, desiring a four-year deal as he would presumably like this to be the final contract he signs in his career. Which, in all honesty, you cannot blame him for at his age. 

But the Rangers aren't going to be backing down to Doan any time soon. GM Glen Sather is putting forth his best effort to compile a championship contending roster, and the addition of Rick Nash last month made a team that is already ahead of schedule jump even further ahead in terms of progress. Now it is time to put the finishing touches on the offensive portion of the lineup, and bringing in Doan would do that and some. As I've pointed out in the past, it would perfectly round-out the Blueshirts up front for the 2012-13 season. 

However, the "new" Glen Sather does not take action based on desperation, and he proved that by holding out six months just to pry Nash from the grip of Columbus Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson. I don't anticipate Sather giving in here, as Doan is not a make-or-break acquisition by any means. It would simply make a near perfect offense even more solidified.

This is where things get tricky for New York, though, as the competition may step up here and surrender to Doan's desires. The Vancouver Canucks seem to be the Rangers' biggest contender right now, as he would arguably be a perfect piece to the puzzle over there as well. Plus it has been reported that he owns some land out there and obviously has a connection to the city.

In addition to Vancouver, Philadelphia is also in the mix, and there's yet another rumor that the Nashville Predators are now stepping up and having head coach Barry Trotz contact Shane himself.

Plus, Doan's agent has also went on record saying that Doan has received a four-year offer from an NHL team, but did not specify whether that team was one of the organizations on Doan's short list.  

The Rangers must remain smart here, and I have full faith that they will do just that. Four years for a soon to-be 36-year-old is a bit risky as the Blueshirt Faithful have come to learn the hard way. It's three years or the highway for Shane, but I will say that I'd be slightly surprised if he was not a Ranger by the end of the month.

Just saying.  

BLOG UPDATE

Earlier in the week I mentioned the future launch of "Rangers Tribune 2013", and that I would be providing updates along the way. Well, at the moment, everything is moving smoothly and in a timely fashion, and from what I've seen, the new design that is being built from scratch is looking mighty gorgeous in its early stages. Basically the goal is to make things easier for you, the reader, and bring a more sophisticated and advanced feel to the environment as compared to a typical everyday hockey blog. 

I'll have more updates on here and twitter as things move along, but the project should definitely be complete and launched within the month. I'm more than thrilled to bring my ideas and visions to life and to continue to make The Rangers Tribune even more immaculate. Trust me, there's not another hockey blog out there putting forth the time and effort behind-the-scenes to give their readers a premier experience like we are right now.

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