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Why Canucks fans still hate Duncan Keith after all these years

Rob Williams
Rob Williams
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Oct 15 2021, 7:41 pm
Why Canucks fans still hate Duncan Keith after all these years
Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

It takes a lot to rile up a crowd in Vancouver during a preseason game.

And yet last Saturday, during a meaningless game with only 50% capacity allowed at Rogers Arena, Canucks fans were fully engaged whenever #2 on the Edmonton Oilers hit the ice.

Duncan Keith was booed thoroughly by astute fans who not only noticed that the former Chicago Blackhawks defenceman was playing for a new team, but haven’t remembered what he did to their team.

Usually changing teams cools tensions for hated players. Certainly it did with Milan Lucic and Dustin Byfuglien.

We can only imagine what would have happened if Tyler Myers steamrolled Keith at Rogers Arena, instead of Rogers Place in Edmonton on Wednesday. Because Canucks fans on Twitter were having the time of their lives.

“I had heard a little bit about it. I know there’s a history there,” Myers said this morning about his clean hit on Keith, downplaying the significance of it. “It could have been anybody that I was making the hit on, it just happened to be a guy that has a lot of history with the city.”

Why Canucks fans still hate Keith

If you weren’t paying close attention to the Canucks in 2012, then the reaction probably seems over the top.

But if you mess with a Sedin, Canucks fans don’t forget.

The Canucks-Blackhawks rivalry from 2009 to 2013 was the most intense rivalry in Canucks franchise history.

It began with a line brawl on March 29, 2009, after Byfuglien ran Roberto Luongo. It continued for three hotly contested playoff series in consecutive years.

But Byfuglien didn’t get booed every time he touched the puck in Vancouver. Same for Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

That’s because what Keith did went beyond the usual rivalry stuff. He delivered a cheap shot that led to the demise of the greatest era in Canucks history.

On March 21, 2012, Keith delivered an elbow to Daniel Sedin’s head. The reigning Art Ross Trophy winner, Daniel had 30 goals and was tied for 17th in NHL scoring with 67 points in 72 games at the time.

Daniel missed the next 12 games, including three playoff games, with a concussion. The Canucks lost all three playoff games without Daniel in the lineup, including two games by just one goal (minus an empty netter in Game 1). The Canucks’ biggest issue in the series was their inability to score.

As back-to-back Presidents’ Trophy winners, the Canucks were a Stanley Cup contender. They went to the Stanley Cup Final the year before. But without Daniel at full strength, they were ousted in the first round.

Keith was suspended for five games, but was available for the final two regular season games and playoffs.

Maybe the Canucks would have lost that first-round series to the eventual Stanley Cup champion LA Kings anyway, but going down without one of their top players because of a cheap shot never sat well with anyone.

Vancouver and Chicago didn’t meet again that season, and the ensuing lockout perhaps cooled things between the two teams. Either way, the Canucks never really sought retribution for the hit.

Keith didn’t do himself any favours to make amends with Vancouver.

Many considered his exchange with Team 1040 reporter Karen Thomson on April 22, 2013 to be sexist. Keith pointed out that she was female, then essentially told her that she didn’t know anything about hockey.

Keith later said that he respects everyone’s job, pointing out a female reporter from Chicago that he deals with frequently and respects, and that this was merely a case of him being a “sore loser.”

The Canucks won their division in 2013, but make no mistake, it was an end of an era. They weren’t the juggernaut they had been before, in part, because Daniel Sedin was never the same player as Thomas Drance illustrates below.

 

For what it’s worth, the Sedins seem over it. On the night that they got their jerseys retired before a game against the Blackhawks, Henrik mentioned his appreciation for the rivalry before adding “even Duncan Keith.”

Canucks fans booed in response.

You can bet that Canucks fans will boo Keith again when the Oilers visit on October 30 as well.

Is it petty? Probably. Ten years after the elbow, should Canucks fans let it go? Maybe.

But you know what? This is what’s great about sports. We need villains. We need passion.

And after a year and half without fans at games, we’ve never needed it more.

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