Coyotes' Doan suspended three games by NHL

Published November 20, 2014

The National Hockey League issued a three- game suspension without pay to Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan on Wednesday.

Doan was given a two-minute minor for delivering an elbow to the head of Dallas forward Jamie Benn early in the second period of a 4-3 shootout loss against the Stars on Tuesday.

"As Doan crashes down, he realizes he's beat. He tries to get a piece of Benn to try and prevent or slow down a potential odd-man rush by Dallas. Caught between the puck and the man, Doan instinctively reaches out, catching Benn in the chin with his elbow," stated NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan.

"While we accept Doan's assertion that the act was not intentional, we feel that Doan's extended elbow in that situation was reckless, and made him responsible for the dangerous head contact that resulted. It is important to note that Doan is a repeat offender. We also have taken into consideration that Doan was fined five days ago for a boarding incident."

Doan had previously been suspended for three games in October of 2010 for a hit to the head of Anaheim's Dan Sexton.

The 35-year-old will forfeit $166,463.40, which automatically goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund, and is not eligible to return until March 29 when the Coyotes host San Jose.

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