According to a report by CSNCalifornia, the San Jose Sharks are now one of the favorites to sign Coyotes free agent forward Shane Doan. Doan is the top free agent still available in the NHL, and has already met with several teams, including the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Doan has reportedly received interest from the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres. Of course, there's a chance he'll remain with Phoenix and some say that would be his top choice, but the current state of the ownership there has Doan figuring out a backup plan if things look too unstable in the desert.
As SB Nation's Travis Hughes points out, San Jose doesn't have the space to fit a $7.5 million cap hit on the contract that Doan's would reportedly demand so it's still unclear if they can afford him. However, NHL clubs can go over the salary cap by 10 percent during the offseason, which would would give them time to shuffle things around personnel wise, to shed salary in the event Doan decides to sign with the Sharks. Regardless, we'll have to see if Phoenix can convince him to stay.
For more in depth discussion and top notch analysis of everything regarding the Phoenix Coyotes this offseason, make sure that you check out SB Nation's hopelessly devoted Coyotes blog, Five For Howling. Don't forget about SB Nation Arizona either, or SB Nation's dedicated hockey hub.