EDMONTON — Duncan Keith never did skate like Cale Makar, dangle on the power play the way Sergei Zubov once did, or score like the great Nicklas Lidstrom.
But he skated just well enough and to the exact right spots at the perfect time. On the power play he deftly distributed a one-timer to Brent Seabrook when that was the play, or fired off hockey’s most tippable slapper to Marian Hossa or Jonathan Toews for a deflection goal.
Through 1,256 games (and 151 more in the post-season) Keith wasn’t as physical as Shea Weber, or Scott Stevens. But ask any of the Vancouver Canucks how easy Keith was to play against in those classic Canucks-Blackhawks series, where Keith was as edgy as required.
He was a two-way defenceman come playoff time — clean, or not-so-clean. Whatever it took to win.
After 17 seasons, three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, two Norris Trophies and a Conn Smythe, Keith retired as an Edmonton Oiler Tuesday. He will forever be remembered as a Chicago Blackhawk, however, and will wear the red, black and white into the Hockey Hall of Fame, very possibly upon the first time he is eligible for induction.
“I’ve got a lot of special memories from my time there, and those championship teams were definitely some of the highlights,” Keith said at a farewell press conference Tuesday, held graciously and with much class by an Oilers organization that saw only 64 of Keith’s total NHL games. “I’ve got a lot of great memories, a lot of great teammates from my time in Chicago. Too many players to name them all.”
Of course, he tried.
But ahead of the steady leaders like Toews, the flashy Patrick Kane or the blood-‘n’-guts Nick Hjalmarsson came his lifetime defence partner, Seabrook. In December of 2018, they played their 1000th game as a tandem, the only pair to do so in NHL history.
“A big, strong, right-handed defenceman… I couldn't ask for a better player or a better person to play my whole career in Chicago with,” Keith said. “Guys joke around that I might not have made it to every practice or game had I not had him picking me up to get to the airport on time. So I’m very thankful for a teammate like Brent, a selfless leader that was huge for not only just my career, but everybody else in Chicago at that time.”
As an Oiler in these past playoffs, Keith stepped up to take a big bite of Darnell Nurse’s minutes and matchups, when Nurse tore a hip flexor in the final week of the regular season. He played above his role and helped Edmonton to a Conference Final they had not seen since 2006.
But his legacy as an Oiler will be playing a half-season and playoffs paired with rookie Evan Bouchard, whose game grew visibly with each week spent next to a Hall-of-Fame, Winnipeg native.
Ironically, Keith looked back Tuesday on an old NHL D-man who tutored him as a young pup, his head coach at AHL Norfolk from 2003-05.
“I owe a big thank you to Trent Yawney,” said Keith, who turns 39 on Saturday. “He really helped me lay down the foundation for a pro career, taught me what it was all about to be a defenceman at this level, and believed in me. That I could play defence being a smaller defenceman and use my quickness and my speed, my heart and determination.”
Nearly every great team has their Duncan Keith. Whether his name is Denis Potvin, Paul Coffey, Ray Bourque, Kris Letang or Chris Pronger, any team of horses needs a lead and that’s exactly what Keith was during the Blackhawks glory years. They won Stanley Cups in 2010, ’13 and ’15 — never losing in a Final — and Keith was that horse.
Incredibly, he led the Blackhawks in ice time in 15 of his 17 seasons. Of the two where he finished second or third due to games lost to injury, Keith still led the Blackhawks in average ice time per game.
He took one final season in Edmonton to be able to spend more time with his son Colton, who resides with his mother in Penticton B.C., and revelled in playing in front of Colton and his uncle’s family, who live in Edmonton. Keith’s voice cracked as he thanked his parents and extended family for all they’ve given to allow his career to play out the way it did.
But everything has an expiry date, and being closer to home this season made Keith realize that playing at home and being at home are two different things.
“It just felt like, the last few years there was a change in how I felt,” Keith reminisced. “I still love the game — I always will — but the opportunity of being around my son Colton more, and his hockey… Being able to help my brother coach our boys and his daughter and my niece. The more and more I got closer to that the more excited I became about that.”
Keith made Edmonton a transition between a Hall-of-Fame career and retirement, and the Oilers were served exceptionally well in their role.
Asked what he would tell Toews, or Kane, if they called to ask about life after the Blackhawks, or one final hurrah with Connor McDavid in Edmonton, Keith was blunt.
“I’d definitely give them a glowing recommendation.”
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