Oilers: Three Good Things About the Duncan Keith Trade
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.
Leadership Qualities Have Potential Value
Impossible to quantify, but true leaders do exist in the world. Edmontonians will naturally think of the UFA signing of Milan Lucic and the vaunted intangible qualities he was going to bring to the Oilers’ young dressing room and shake their heads at the concept, but it’s possible Keith can do better.
While anyone would 1989-90 Mark Messier on their club with all of his 129 points, it was the 1993-94 version that found a way to get the Rangers past their legendary Stanley Cup drought. Admittedly, the 84 points he scored that season are significantly more than Keith’s measly 5, but the premise is the same.
Keith doesn’t need to come in and take over the room. Frankly, if you aren’t inspired to play your best hockey when you get to suit up next to the best player in the world today, witnessing all the things he does to keep himself in top shape and constantly improve his game, then maybe pro hockey isn’t for you.
But on defence Edmonton could use a stronger voice, that might have been Oscar Klefbom were he healthy, and others such as Darnell Nurse or a re-signed Adam Larsson could play the role as well, but Keith’s ability to say that he has been to the top of the mountain, and to help younger players understand what getting there takes, should benefit the team.
You Just Never Know
Advanced analytics are not kind to today’s Duncan Keith. Facing relatively weak competition over the past season, he still didn’t come out on top, and if his speed and reflexes are in decline, that may only get worse.
But looking at his specific circumstances, on a Chicago roster that was a shadow of its former greatness, as well as considering the unbelievable season that fellow 38-year-old Mike Smith had for the Oilers, there is at least a chance that Edmonton can see a positive gain from this acquisition.
It’s too late to ask Chicago to reconsider, so every Oiler fan will hope the upside of the Keith trade presents itself more often than the seemingly massive downside. A reenergized Keith, with improved mental health from the ability to spend days off with his son, might surprise those of us that look at the downward arc of his point totals and performance. If that’s the case, and he plays a strong role on a couple of playoff drives over the coming two seasons, the trade will look far better in the rearview mirror.