After weeks of rumors and speculation, the Chicago Blackhawks have traded Duncan Keith to the Edmonton Oilers.
[UPDATE] Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic provided the full terms of the deal:
Full Oilers-Hawks deal:
Duncan Keith and Tim Soderlund for Caleb Jones And 2022 3rd RD pick
The 2022 pick will become a 2nd RD pick if Edm wins 3 rounds in 2022 playoffs AND Keith is amongst the top 4 in Oilers D time on ice during the first three rounds of the 2022 Playoffs.— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 12, 2021
The team confirmed the details of the trade on a statement released Monday evening.
This deal feels like a massive win for the Blackhawks, who shed the final two years of Keith’s contract worth just over $5.5 million AAV, freeing up additional cap space to make a bigger splash in the offseason. Adding Jones also provides yet another young blue-liner to Chicago’s glutton of prospects at that position.
But that’s secondary to what’s happened with this deal, which ends the second-longest career in Blackhawks history. Keith played in 1,192 regular season games for the Blackhawks, second only to Stan Mikita’s 1,396. During those 16 seasons, Keith skated in the Stanley Cup Playoffs 10 times, adding another 135 games to Keith’s well-worn tires.
The accolades are as long as that of any NHL player:
- Three-time Stanley Cup winner
- three-time All-Star
- two-time Norris Trophy winner as the league’s best defenseman
- two Olympic gold medals
- 2015 Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP/
It’ll take some time to find the right words to properly convey express Keith’s legacy with this franchise. Right now, it’s another piece of that vaunted Blackhawks core from the 2010s who’s now a former member of the team.
And that realization stings a little more every time it happens.