Duncan Keith and his Chicago Blackhawks teammates hoisted three Stanley Cups with thousands of fans looking on from the stands and millions more watching on TV.
But for his final season, played with the Edmonton Oilers, it was all about an audience of one.
While announcing his retirement Tuesday in Edmonton, Keith thanked everyone from teammates to trainers to his father for “selling me on the dream of being an NHL player.”
Then he turned to his 9-year-old son, Colton, and put a hand on his shoulder: “Lastly, I want to thank you, Colt, my boy. Love you.
“He was a huge inspiration for me the last few years,” Keith said, choking back tears, “especially being able to play in front of him and just to have him around more meant a lot.”
After 17 NHL seasons, the defenseman called it a career — one year to the day after the Hawks traded him to the Oilers to accommodate his wish to be closer to family in Western Canada.
But Chicago also remained at the top of his mind.
“I want to thank Blackhawks fans for their passion and support over the years,” Keith said. “They really guided us and helped cheer us on through the ups and downs, and I have a lot of fond memories.
“When I decided to turn the page and leave Chicago, it was a very hard decision but one decision that looking back on was one of the best decisions to make. (The) emphasis on that was to be closer to my son, Colton, and play in front of him more.”
Keith, 38, finishes his career with 106 goals and 540 assists in 1,256 games. In 151 playoff games, he recorded 19 goals and 72 assists. He had a goal and 20 assists in 64 games with the Oilers.
Keith was a two-time Norris Trophy winner (2010, 2014) as the league’s best defenseman and won the 2015 Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason MVP.
He was named to the All-Star first team in 2010 and 2014 and the second team in 2017, and he played in four All-Star Games (2008, 2011, 2015 and 2017).
Keith credited a lot of people for his success — including former Hawks general manager Dale Tallon for drafting him and Trent Yawney for coaching him as a prospect with the AHL Norfolk Admirals — but one supporter stood out: Brent Seabrook.
“Brent was instrumental in my hockey career,” Keith said. “When I won my two Norris trophies, I always played my best hockey with Brent Seabrook, a big, strong, right-handed-shot defenseman. I couldn’t ask for a better player, a better person to play my whole career in Chicago with him.
“Guys joke around that I might not have made it to every practice or every game had I not had him picking me up to get to the airport on time. (I’m) so very thankful for a teammate like Brent, a selfless leader who was huge for not only my career but everybody else in Chicago at that time.
“I was fortunate to play over 1,000 games as defense partners. I think we have the record for defensemen to play the most games together on a team in the NHL.”
A 2002 second-round draft pick, Keith scored 105 goals for the Hawks — one of only four Hawks defensemen in the 100-goal club — and had 520 assists, which ranks sixth in team history. His 1,192 games played is second in franchise history behind Stan Mikita (1,396).
But beyond the numbers, fans practically deified him for his toughness on the ice.
There’s no better example of that than the episode that earned him the nickname “Duncan Teeth.”
Keith took a flying puck to the mouth in Game 4 of the 2010 Western Conference finals against the San Jose Sharks. But after some quick dental work, he came back and assisted on the tying goal, and the Hawks went on to clinch the series and a berth in the Stanley Cup Final.
During his news conference, Keith chose to reflect on simpler moments.
“(I have) a lot of great memories with Brent, but when I think of those other teammates — Patrick Sharp, Marián Hossa, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Corey Crawford, Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Kris Versteeg, Brian Campbell — the list goes on,” said Keith, namechecking several of the teammates with whom he won Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
“One thing that made those teams special is our passion and the fact that we cared and we wanted to be great every single night. I remember sitting around hotel rooms late at night with Seabs and Sharpy, we’d always be talking — we called them ‘hot stoves’ — and I remember one night, I think it was here in Edmonton, we had the longest hot stove we had. I think it lasted until 5 or 6 in the morning.
“The next night I was at minus-5, my worst career minus-5 that night, right here in Edmonton against the Oilers. So my advice to you prospects is make sure you get your sleep at night before a game.”
