Farewell: Duncan Keith, Blackhawks Legend

Monday, the Blackhawks dealt defenseman Duncan Keith to the Oilers along with forward Tim Soderlund for defenseman Caleb Jones and a third-round draft pick in 2022 that becomes a second-rounder if the Oilers make it to the Stanley Cup Final and Keith is among the top 4 defensemen on the team in ice time during that run. Keith will be 38 in 3 days and wanted to wind down his career closer to his family in British Columbia while playing for a team that’s ready to win now. That criteria leaves only Edmonton, unless Keith thought that the Seattle Kraken were going to be instantly competitive, which isn’t out of the question since the Golden Knights did just that, but still, Edmonton was the safer bet and Keith had final say since he had a full no-movement clause in his contract. Given the situation, it’s pretty surprising Stan Bowman got the return he did. Best-case scenario: Caleb being here makes his brother Seth want to be here. Worst-case scenario: the Seth Jones scenario doesn’t play out, the Hawks expose Caleb in the expansion draft, don’t lose Calvin de Haan to Seattle, and still have (at least) the third-round pick, plus the cap space vacated by Keith.

While in Chicago, Keith was a three-time Stanley Cup Champion, two-time Norris Trophy winner, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2015 when he had a monster playoff run, eating up a ton of minutes on the ice, playing rock-solid defense, and scoring the Cup-winning goal. To call him a legend is an understatement. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer and his number will surely hang in the United Center rafters.

Thank you, Duncan.

Twitter: @KSchroeder_312