Coyotes Legend's Wife Seeks to Bring Hockey Back to Arizona

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Jon Alfano | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 3:30 PM ET

April 18, 2024, the day that hockey left the desert.

On that day, the Arizona Coyotes franchise was essentially split in two. The team's hockey assets - players, coaches and front office staff, draft picks, etc. - would go to the newly-created Utah Hockey Club (now the Utah Mammoth), while the history would remain in Arizona with the franchise going dormant pending a permanent arena. Months later, a land auction for a potential new arena was abruptly canceled and owner Alex Meruelo relinquished his rights to the franchise, leaving it in a state of limbo.

While the Coyotes didn't have the biggest following, the fans they did have were a very passionate bunch. As such, there's been efforts to bring the NHL back to the state since the team left, and those efforts just grew a lot stronger.

According to Craig Morgan on the Arizona Insider substack, Andrea Doan, wife of Coyotes icon Shane Doan, will serve as the chair of a committee dedicated to bringing hockey back to the state. Maricopa County Board of Supervisors chair Tom Galvin founded the committee earlier this year, with the intention of partnering with "political, business, community and sports leaders dedicated to bringing the NHL back to the Phoenix metro area."

"Andrea Doan is a longstanding supporter of Arizona hockey, and is married to Shane Doan, who was instrumental in building Arizona’s hockey legacy," Galvin told Morgan. "She is as much a part of the Arizona hockey story over the last 20-plus years as Shane. Andrea has dedicated much of her personal life to our community and building support for Arizona hockey. Andrea’s knowledge of the industry, and her connections to Arizona and the NHL are instrumental to our mission."

Shane, the Coyotes' all-time leader in most key stats, is currently working with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a special advisor to general manager Brad Treliving. As a result, he cannot attach his name to the venture, but Andrea was more than happy to step up in his place.

"Whatever Shane and I do we are always doing together anyway, but his commitment right now is to Toronto," Andrea said. "So is mine, but this is sort of a separate entity; just working with the NHL and trying to bring the organization back to Phoenix where it belongs and where it can thrive and succeed."

This group has a lot of work ahead, as the Coyotes unfortunately turned off many in the area with their poor business practices over the years. With the Doan family on board, though, it feels like a return is possible in the near future.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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