Brad Treliving has made his first move as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, adding former Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan to his front office.
The Maple Leafs announced that Doan will join the Original Six club as a special adviser to the general manager.
“The Maple Leafs have a such deep history and a passionate fan base, and I’m excited to contribute in any way I can in the organization’s pursuit of their ultimate goal,” Doan said in a release. “I’m also thrilled to once again work alongside Brad Treliving and continue a working relationship that began during Brad’s time with the Coyotes.”
Matthews grew up a Coyotes fan at a time when Doan was among the team’s most popular players.
Doan spent his entire 21-year playing career with the Coyotes franchise, starting in its final year in Winnipeg in 1995-96.
He recorded 972 points (402 goals, 570 assists) through 1,540 career regular-season games with the franchise and was named an NHL all-star in 2004 and 2009.
Doan spent three years in the NHL’s hockey operations department after his retirement as a player following the 2016-17 season.
He joined the Coyotes’ front office in 2021 and spent two years as chief hockey development officer.
The 46-year-old from Halkirk, Alta., most recently served as the assistant GM of Canada’s national men’s team, which won gold at the 2023 world championship.
Doan takes over the role from Jason Spezza, who left the team following the firing of former Leafs GM Kyle Dubas in May.
Blue Jackets add Severson
Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets acquired Damon Severson from the New Jersey Devils after the veteran defenceman and soon-to-be free agent signed an eight-year, $50 million US contract.
Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen sent a third-round pick, 80th overall, in this month’s draft to the Devils for Severson, who will be under contract through the 2030-31 NHL season.
Severson had 58 goals and 205 assists in 647 career appearances with the Devils since making his NHL debut in 2014-15. He scored seven game-winning goals and averaged more than 21 minutes of playing time during his nine seasons. The 28-year-old had seven goals and 26 assists this season, including two game-winning goals, in 81 games.
The Brandon, Man., native was selected in the second round in the 2012 draft. He has collected 30 or more points five times in his career and twice notched 11 or more goals. He played in every game in three straight seasons from 2018-21 and has played 80 or more contests four times in his career.
Columbus also added defenceman Ivan Provorov in a trade with Philadelphia earlier this week.
With the addition of the third-round pick, New Jersey now has six selections in the draft, including its own picks in rounds two, four, five, six and seven.