Penguins “very much alive” but Doan still waiting to see what happens with Coyotes

The Pittsburgh Penguins have emerged as a serious suitor for 35 year old winger Shane Doan as Doan and his agent Terry Bross have reached the point where they are now only considering three to four teams, including the Phoenix Coyotes, after as many as 16 teams expressed interest.

“Pittsburgh is very much alive, ” Bross of Lagardere Unlimited told Inside Pittsburgh Sports.com on Friday afternoon of the Penguins still being under strong consideration from Doan.

The Penguins submitted an offer this week and after making their pitch, are now in waiting mode with the small shortlist of other teams still under consideration. Bross said today that there is “no timetable” for a decision, saying a decision could come as early as “tomorrow” or play out into next week.

Similar to Zach Parise, Doan has so much respect for the Coyotes, that I’m told he’s come around to the idea of playing in the Eastern Conference as a possible better option which has him seriously considering the Penguins and possibly the New York Rangers, in addition to one or two Western Conference teams.

Bross though made it clear that with the latest developments this week regarding Phoenix/Glendale, Doan is still waiting to see what happens with the Coyotes.

“We are still waiting to see what happens here with the Coyotes, ” Bross said. “Bill Daly indicated to me they {NHL} are moving forward with sale to Jamison……We shall see, ” Bross added who knows the twists and turns regarding this situation.

With Doan still not ready to pull the plug on leaving Phoenix just yet, it hasn’t led to the Penguins being ready to push forward in talks with Alex Semin. There has yet to be any substantive talks, an NHL source confirmed on Friday morning. The Penguins though have yet to inform Semin’s camp that they are no longer considering him.

As it’s nearing mid-July, Semin’s agent Mark Gandler has become extremely frustrated with how his client has become portrayed and feels comments from TSN analysts, former NHL coach Marc Crawford and Pierre McGuire ( a close friend of Ray Shero) on July 1, bashing Semin, have only hurt things for the 28 year old.

“This is not a great teammate. I’ll tell you that right now, not a good guy to have around your group unless you have unbelievably great leadership and rely on that. He’s the ultimate coach killer, that’s what he is, ” McGuire said of Semin.

In addition to Pittsburgh, the Red Wings, Devils, and Hurricanes are among five to six teams expressing varying degrees of interest. It’s believed no team has expressed interest in committing a deal over two years, while Pittsburgh and Carolina would not commit more than a one year deal.

In talking to Gandler a few times in the past seven to ten days, he see’s the situation and knows that Semin’s best hope of changing his reputation is finding the perfect situation on what would likely be a one year deal. That’s a reason he approached Pittsburgh just after July 4th. The trouble for Gandler has been getting his client on board for a one year deal as Semin told his agent just before free agency that he won’t consider any one year offers.

Things are reaching the point though that if Semin wants to stay in the NHL he’s going to accept a 1-2 year deal and Pittsburgh offers a great situation that could be a win-win for both sides.