GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Shane Doan was showered with tributes and applause following the final game of the 2016-17 season, the big send-off coming just in case the Arizona Coyotes captain decided to retire.
Doan still hasn't decided if he will retire, but he won't play for the Coyotes if he does come back.
The Coyotes issued a statement Monday saying the team will not offer Doan a contract, ending a 21-year relationship that began before the franchise moved to the Valley of the Sun.
"The time has come for us to move on and to focus on our young, talented group of players and our very bright future," Coyotes owner Andrew Barroway said in the statement. "This was a very difficult decision given what Shane has done for the Coyotes and his unparalleled importance to the organization. With that said, this is necessary to move us forward as a franchise."
The Coyotes have been in rebuilding mode since a run to the 2012 Western Conference finals, a span of five playoff-less seasons that led the franchise to skew toward younger players.
The Coyotes traded 33-year-old Mike Smith, their No. 1 goalie the past five seasons, to Calgary on Saturday and left Doan unprotected in the NHL expansion draft on Sunday. They parted ways -- at least on the ice -- with their 40-year-old captain a day later, leaving Doan to decide whether to retire or join another team (see full story).
Philadelphia Flyers
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia Flyers and their rivals in the NHL from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Wild: With Dumba exposed, team has a lot to lose
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- There were many years in Minnesota Wild history when assembling a list of their top 10 players would have been a breeze.
That was the biggest challenge this offseason.
The downside to the roster depth the Wild have built has arrived this week in the form of the NHL expansion draft, which will rob them of a valuable player on Wednesday night when the Vegas Golden Knights construct their inaugural team with one player from each of the other 30 clubs.
With defensemen Matt Dumba and Marco Scandella at the front of the queue, the Wild stand to lose as much as any team.
"They paid a large expansion fee, and the rules are set up that they're going to get some tremendous assets out of this process, as they should," Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher said. He added: "It's actually, I think, a compliment to our organization that we have so many tough decisions."
Fletcher and his top lieutenant, Brent Flahr, quickly realized last summer their vulnerability once the NHL revealed the expansion draft guidelines.
"We did the math very quickly, and we were like, `We're going to lose a good player,'" Fletcher said last week, before the lists were submitted to the league (see full story).
Predators: Lyytinen signed to entry-level deal
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Joonas Lyytinen to a two-year, entry-level contract.
The Predators announced the deal Monday.
The 22-year-old Lyytinen just played his fourth season with KalPa in the Finnish League where he tied for seventh with eighth goals among defensemen. He helped the team to a silver medal with seven points in 18 postseason games.
He also played for Finland in the 2015 World Junior Championship with current Predators goalie Juuse Saros. Lyytinen was the 132nd pick overall in the fifth round of the 2014 draft.
