Doan ends legal faceoff with politician

TORONTO (Reuters) - National Hockey League player Shane Doan and a Canadian politician reached an out-of-court settlement on Friday in their defamation dispute stemming from a game nearly five years ago.

The men were suing each other for defamation in relation to events in December 2005 when the Phoenix Coyotes' forward received a penalty during a game against the Montreal Canadiens for allegedly making derogatory comments at French-speaking on-ice officials.

Doan, who repeatedly denied making any derogatory comments during the Montreal game, was later cleared by the NHL. He filed a defamation suit against Coderre, who fired back with a defamation suit of his own.

Terms of the settlement were not given.

(Writing by Frank Pingue; editing by Rob Wilson)