Doan hired by Maple Leafs as adviser to GM

Shane Doan was hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs as a special adviser to the general manager on Friday.

The 46-year-old will work with Brad Treliving, who was hired as Maple Leafs GM on May 31 after Kyle Dubas was told May 18 that he would not return. Treliving was an assistant GM with the Arizona Coyotes from 2007-14 when Doan played for them.

"Probably the biggest thing is the relationship I've had with Brad," Doan said. "I think that's really what matters. You have to find ways to work with people who are going to improve you and make you better, and I think 'Tre' is one of the best managers there is around, and getting the opportunity to work with him was huge.

"And the fact it's the Toronto Maple Leafs. There's no way you can get around that. ... You can't ignore the fact it is where hockey is so huge and the ability to be there and everything they've created and everything they've done as an organization to create the Leafs is special, and to be part of that is something that Brad mentioned to me and we talked quite a bit about that. On top of that, there comes a time when you have to do stuff that makes you grow and you have to stretch yourself."

Doan was chief hockey development officer for the Coyotes for the past three seasons. He also was assistant GM for Hockey Canada for the men's national team, which won gold at the 2023 IIHF World Championship. Doan was GM for Canada at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship and the Spengler Cup in 2021 and 2022.

He played all 21 of his NHL seasons with the Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets franchise from 1995-2017 and is their leader in games played (1,540), goals (402), assists (570), points (972) and game-winning goals (69).

"Through his more than 1,500 NHL games played, his management roles, being an NHL team captain for more than a decade and being just a wonderful human being, Shane has touched all the aspects of the game which make him a terrific fit with the Maple Leafs organization, its staff and players," Treliving said.

Doan was Coyotes captain for 13 seasons from 2003 until he retired in 2017. They retired his No. 19 on Feb. 24, 2019.

"I love the Coyotes and I've been there a long time," he said. "Realistically, it's through the opportunity for relationships that I had with Brad Treliving and the people that I kind of got to know over the years here in Arizona, one of the guys was Brad and we stayed in contact. ... He allows people to have a voice and yet at the same time, everybody knows who is in charge. He cares about people and he cares about the relationships with them and that's really management in general, just understanding people and understanding human nature and he gets that.

"For me, that's so important, and it gives you an opportunity to win when you have people like that around."

The Maple Leafs (50-21-11) finished second in the Atlantic Division this season and won a Stanley Cup Playoff series for the first time since 2004, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games in the Eastern Conference First Round.

"You look at what they've done in the last few years, they're in the top three or four every single year, top five every year in the League, and you don't do that by accident," Doan said. "You don't do that through happenstance. You have to have some legit players, some legit management and coaching staff who are great, and they've done a lot of great things.

"The goal is always to win, and it's so hard to win the whole thing. There's only one team that's ever happy. You look at what [the] Boston [Bruins] just went through and how great they were and the fact they were out in the first round. It happens. So now you've got to figure out a way to take that next step. There's lots of things on the roster that are really, really good. I don't care if you win the Stanley Cup, guys are going to adjust and tweak their rosters."

When Treliving was hired, he said signing center Auston Matthews to a new contract was the Maple Leafs' top priority. Matthews, whose 299 goals are 128 more than any other Toronto player has since his rookie season of 2016-17 (forward William Nylander is second with 171), is eligible to sign a new contract July 1, which is also the date a full no-move clause kicks in on the final season of the five-year, $58.17 million contract (average annual value $11.634 million) the center signed Feb. 5, 2019.

Doan, who has been skating with Matthews since the latter was a 16-year-old growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona, said he is looking forward to aiding the Maple Leafs in their quest to sign Matthews to a long-term contract.

"He has that right as a player to go through that," Doan said, "and I think every single organization does that when they have an elite player. It's no different with him. I'll be involved in helping Brad and helping the organization in any way possible, and if I can help in that area, I'll help. But at the same time, that will be his decision and I'm excited to work with him for the next little bit."

NHL.com independent correspondent Dave McCarthy contributed to this report