NHL News: Duncan Keith Officially Announces His Retirement
By Jim Lynch
Duncan Keith officially announced on Tuesday that he was retiring from the NHL after playing in the league for 17 seasons, 16 with the Chicago Blackhawks and one with the Edmonton Oilers.
Keith during his time in the NHL won three Stanley Cups, two Norris Trophies and a Conn Smythe. He is one of the best defensemen ever to play the game, and he is a lock for the Hall of Fame and getting his number retired by the Blackhawks.
Keith’s retirement clears up some much-needed cap space for the Edmonton Oilers, and it hits Chicago with a cap penalty because Keith retired before his contract was up. Because the Hawks are rebuilding, the cap penalty really is no issue to them in 2022.
Let’s dive in and talk about Duncan Keith and how good he really was.
Duncan Keith was the top defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks for a long time. Before the team was good during the early 2010s, Keith was a main piece of the blue line leading the charge, and he even continued to play top minutes through the back half of his career.
It is a shame to think Duncan Keith will not be in the Stanley Cup Playoffs again, but the interesting thing about him is the fact that he could have still played another four or five seasons if he wanted to. He was still in as good of a shape now as he was early on in his career.
You cannot talk about how good Duncan Keith was during his playing days without looking at his playoff stats. Check those out right here:
Keith won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015 with the Chicago Blackhawks. He was the main reason the team captured the Cup in 2015 playing over 30 minutes a night during those playoff games.
I still do not think it Keith gets enough credit for how good he was in 2015. The Blackhawks were playing practically only four defensemen, and Keith was out there for over half of the game blocking shots and helping to set up the offense, including this amazing goal to win the Stanley Cup in 2015.
The Chicago Blackhawks ended up trading Duncan Keith to the Edmonton Oilers a year ago today in a move that was made to help bring Keith closer to his family. Now he gets to relax and enjoy retirement before getting his number retired by the Chicago Blackhawks and go down in history as the best defenseman ever to wear the Hawks uniform.