Duncan Keith is heading to Edmonton.
The Oilers announced Monday that they have acquired the veteran defenceman and forward Tim Soderlund in exchange for rearguard Caleb Jones and a conditional 2022 draft pick.
TRADE
The #Oilers have acquired defenceman Duncan Keith & forward Tim Soderlund from Chicago in exchange for defenceman Caleb Jones & a conditional draft pick in 2022. #LetsGoOilers— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) July 12, 2021
No salary was retained in the deal for Keith, who has two years remaining on his 13-year, $72-million contract and carries a cap hit of $5,538,462.
As for the conditions on the 2022 pick, the club said it will be Edmonton's third-rounder in 2022, unless the Oilers win three rounds in the 2022 post-season with Keith among the top four in ice-time among Oilers' D-men through those first three rounds, in which case the pick will be Edmonton's second rounder in 2022.
The trade, which has been rumoured to be in the works since the end of June, allows the 37-year-old to be closer to his son who lives in Western Canada.
Keith has seen his game drop off from consistently among the league's best with a steady decline in his offensive numbers the past three seasons to a career-low 15 points in 54 games this past campaign.
However, the Oilers are likely counting on Keith to bring intangibles to their blue line group, in addition to flashing the skills that made him famous.
The native of Winnipeg helped lead the Blackhawks to their three Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015, winning the Conn Smythe in their last championship run.
Over the course of his 16-year career, he's also made four all-star game appearances and put up 625 points over 1,192 regular-season games.
In Jones, the brother of Columbus Blue Jackets star Seth Jones, the Blackhawks receive a 24-year-old D-man who recorded four points in 33 games with the Oilers last season.
