Duncan Keith returned to workouts with the Blackhawks for the first time in Phase 2 on Friday at Fifth Third Arena.
The 36-year-old defenseman had been working out in British Columbia before arriving in Chicago.
Keith had 27 points (three goals, 24 assists) and averaged 24:23 minutes of ice time in 61 games before the season was paused March 12 due to to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. His 189 consecutive game streak ended Nov. 30 when he missed nine gaames with a groin injury.
He’s 12th and last Chicago defensemen to report for Phase 2, joining Nicolas Beaudin, Adam Boqvist, Lucas Carlsson, Calvin de Haan, Dennis Gilbert, Slater Koekkoek, Olli Maatta, Connor Murphy, Alec Regula, Brent Seabrook and Nick Seeler.
The Blackhawks were 32-30-8 in the regular season and will enter the Stanley Cup Qualifiers as the No. 12 seed in the Western Conference. They will play the No. 5 seed, Oilers, in one of four best-of-five series between Western teams in Edmonton. The Eastern Conference teams will play in Toronto. The winner will advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the loser will have a chance at the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft in the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery.
Chicago will try to advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2017, when they were swept as the No. 1 seed by the No. 8 Predators in the Western Conference first round.
Phase 3, which begins with the opening of training camps, is scheduled for Monday, July 13. Teams will then travel July 26 to one of two hub cities, where they will begin Phase 4, the resumption of play, with the qualifiers starting Aug. 1.