Shane Doan retires after 21-year career

Longtime Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan announced his retirement Wednesday in a farewell letter published in the Arizona Republic.

Here is an excerpt from Doan's statement:

I'm so grateful and thankful to the Winnipeg Jets for drafting me and giving me a chance to play my rookie season and when the team moved to the Valley in 1996, all I wanted to know was if the Coyotes would keep giving me a chance to play.

Against their better judgment, they did and that first game as a Phoenix Coyote was exciting. We played against the San Jose Sharks in downtown Phoenix at America West Arena, and it was so fun. The crowd was right on top of you, and you could feel the emotion and energy in the building.

I could not fathom at the time that I would end up playing in Arizona for the next 21 years, raise a family and call this place home. But that's exactly what happened.

And that's why this has been one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make.

I'm retiring from the NHL.

The two-time All-Star spent his entire 21-year career with the franchise, and finishes as Arizona's all-time leader in games played, goals, assists, and points. Doan and the Coyotes agreed to part ways in June, but it was widely expected the 40-year-old veteran would seek another NHL gig.

Despite coming off his worst offensive season in four years (six goals and 21 assists), Doan had reported interest from multiple clubs to return for the 2017-18 campaign.

The former seventh overall draft pick finishes his career with 402 goals, 570 assists, and 972 points.

Copyright (C) 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.