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Pittsburgh Penguins May Need To Make Deals To Sign Shane Doan

The Pittsburgh Penguins have made a contract offer to free agent forward Shane Doan, but he's yet to make a decision on his future. Doan has spent his entire 17-year NHL career with the Phoenix Coyotes, but their ownership situation is currently up in the air. Whether or not he wants to consider going to the Penguins (or any other team) could depend on whether or not the Coyotes' sale is finalized. If Doan chooses to leave, Pittsburgh might have to make some roster maneuvers to fit him into the team, writes PensBurgh.

If you include the three restricted free agents (RFA's) yet to re-sign with the team and discard defenseman Scott Harrington's contract, the Pens have 49 guys under NHL contract for the 2012-13 season. Simply put, adding Doan without moving someone else will give the Penguins no wiggle room for mid-season acquisitions. In years past, Shero has gone into the season with at least 1-2 spots open on the 50-man limit. This leads me to believe that in order for the Penguins to add Doan, they will need to make a trade to move some guys out of the organization or lose someone on waivers.

If Doan decides that a return to Phoenix is not in his best interests and that he should leave for greener pastures, Shero will probably have some work to do with the fringe players on his roster. The Penguins have a good deal of depth among their two-way player and AHL ranks, and could deal one or two players for lower-round draft picks to make room for Doan. And if no one's biting, Shero might just have to waive a player that actually has some value in order to add Doan.

For more on the Penguins, head over to PensBurgh. For more from around the NHL, check out SB Nation's NHL hub page.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.