On Monday morning Edmonton Oilers fans everywhere got the exciting news they were dying to hear back in 2013. Superstar defenceman, and future Hall of Famer, Duncan Keith, is officially an Oiler.
With more than 600 points in nearly 1200 career games played, he was a major part of the Chicago Blackhawks’ three Stanley Cup victories. Along with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, and Brent Seabrook, Keith was part of a dominant team that some call an NHL dynasty.
Let’s preface this by saying that I am not a fan of the deal that saw Keith leave the Chicago Blackhawks to join the Edmonton Oilers. As anyone who scans Twitter will confirm, Oilers’ general manager Ken Holland overpaid in assets and under-negotiated when it came to salary retention. The trade hurts Edmonton’s ability to spend in free agency and the player himself is in decline. With all that out of the way, however, let’s try and find some positives!
Keith’s Skills Aren’t Entirely Gone and could be useful to the Oilers
While we all lose a step as we age, it is said that we gain wisdom along the way. With 16 NHL seasons behind him, none can question that Keith knows about both attacking and defending at the pro hockey level. Teams feared facing him, and at least some portion of the skills he developed and perfected over his career should be transferable.
Players like Darnell Nurse and Ethan Bear, along with Prospects such as Evan Bouchard and Philip Broberg, will get the opportunity to pick his brain, review videotape and practice side by side.
That sharing of knowledge has value, and if Keith is as good a teacher as he was a player, we could see several Oilers’ defensemen take a step forward over the next couple of seasons. Defence becoming a true position of strength could allow the Oilers to focus on building up offensive, something Holland tried and failed at over the past couple of seasons when bringing in players such as Andreas Athanasiou and Kyle Turris.