Last month, Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan was getting his Carmen Sandiego on, traveling around North America and meeting with NHL suitors. (And also the Buffalo Sabres, which was less a meeting than Terry Pegula backing up a dump truck of greenbacks.)

All the while, Doan and his agent have been in contact with Greg Jamison, who is slashing through red tape and bringing investors together to buy and stabilize the Coyotes — which, in theory, would keep Doan there.

Ah, but there's a fly in the ointment, a monkey in the wrench: The CBA expires on Sept. 15, which is when the NHL is expected to lock out the players. The Arizona Republic reports that Doan and his agent expect to have this future determined by then:

"Shane is going to sign a contract before the CBA expires on the 15th," said Doan's agent, Terry Bross. "(Ownership has to) be done before the 15th, otherwise we're signing somewhere because we don't know what the new CBA is going to look like, and I don't know if it's going to limit any scope of a contract, so we want to make sure we sign before then. "I guess from that respect, time is ticking."

The perception around the League is that Doan will remain with the Coyotes. If not, we still think the Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings and one of the California teams (the San Jose Sharks?) will be the likely destination for Doan. Flirt with the East, settle in the West.