Keith to re-join Oilers in player development role: report
Duncan Keith will be back with the Edmonton Oilers.
Keith, who retired after 17 years in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Blackhawks and Oilers in July, is set to return to the Edmonton franchise in a developmental role, according to Mark Spector of Sportsnet.
“Duncan Keith will sign a Player Development contract with the Oilers this season,” Spector tweeted Thursday.
Duncan Keith will sign a Player Development contract with the Oilers this season.
He’ll dip his toe into the hockey management world after a HHOF career.
Similar to Draper, Horcoff, Verbeek etc. under Holland.— Mark Spector🇨🇦🇺🇦 (@SportsnetSpec) September 15, 2022
The 39-year-old, who had one year remaining on a 13-year, $72 million contract signed with the Blackhawks on December 3, 2009, is a two-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenceman and won the Stanley Cup three times with the Blackhawks.
He also has two Olympic gold medals with Team Canada, in 2010 and 2014.
Keith had 21 points (one goal, 20 assists) in 64 games with the Oilers this season, and added five points (one goal, four assists) in 16 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to help Edmonton into the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2006.
“I think the last few years, as you get to a certain age, you evaluate how you’re feeling, how your body’s feeling,” Keith said, according to NHL.com.
“I always took pride in my training and being ready. It just felt the last few years, there was a change in how I felt. I still love the game, always will, but with the change and getting older … and the thought of being around my son more and being around him and his hockey, being able to help my brother coach our boys and his daughter, more and more it got closer to that and the more excited I became about that thought.
Keith ended his career with 646 points (106 goals, 540 assists) in 1,256 regular-season games and 91 points (19 goals, 72 assists) in 151 playoff games.
He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs in 2015, when he had 21 points (three goals, 18 assists) in 23 games for Chicago.
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