It has been a life-changing six months for Chicago Blackhawks’ defenceman Duncan Keith—one that not even the greatest hockey players of all time have ever matched.
Keith, who got his start in minor hockey here in Fort Frances, became the first player to win Olympic gold, the Stanley Cup, and, most recently, the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenceman all in one season.

Now for the first time since last September, the soon-to-be 27-year-old finally can start to reminisce and enjoy what he’s accomplished over the past year.
“It’s been a real busy couple of weeks,” Keith admitted in a phone interview from his home in Penticton, B.C. last week.

“I got a new place here so relaxing on the water,” he noted. “I’m looking forward to having some down time now. Obviously a long season with a lot going on.
“It’s nice to relax in the summer, get your workouts in, and get rejuvenated for next year.”
Keith capped off a successful season in which he posted career highs with 14 goals, 55 assists, and 69 points—good for second place on the Blackhawks and just behind league-leading Mike Green of the Washington Capitals for top point-getter for a rear guard.
He added 17 points in Chicago’s playoff run and helped end the team’s 49-year Stanley Cup drought when Patrick Kane squeaked the overtime winner past Michael Leighton of the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of the final.

“At first when the goal went in, I didn’t know it went in,” Keith said. “Immediately after, Kane went crazy and guys were jumping up and down.
“It finally sunk in that we had won [and] it was pretty neat.
“We were in Philadelphia but there was still quite a few ’Hawks fans there, so I think it was nice to see the look on the peoples’ faces,” Keith added.
“Obviously, we were pretty ecstatic ourselves, from coaches to players and management, to bring the Cup back to Chicago when we did.
“When we brought it around to different restaurants and bars, it brought the city of Chicago together and it was nice to see that.”
While it would be easy to give most of the credit to star players like Keith, Kane, Jonathan Toews, and goalie Anti Niemi, Keith is quick to pass around the praise to the depth players.
“Really it was a whole team effort,” he stressed. “You look at our team and right on down from our back-up goalie to the six defencemen to four lines of forwards is really the reason there was a turnaround.

“It’s not fair to say it was two or three players because they are the guys who get talked about lots.”

Still, Keith has helped oversee the turnaround of the Blackhawks from perennial cellar-dwellers pre-lockout into the team that will hoist its fourth Stanley Cup banner come October.
“When I first got there, we didn’t have the crowds and we weren’t winning,” he recalled. “The biggest change happened when Rocky Wirtz took over as owner.
“Now it’s all about winning and it’s just a first-class organization now, and when it gets ran like that, it trickles down to everybody,” Keith reasoned.
“Players step up and anything but winning is unacceptable.”
And Keith should be enjoying all Chicago has to offer for plenty of years to come after inking a 13-year extension worth $72 million (U.S.)
“That’s why I signed it because I wanted to be in Chicago,” he remarked. “If I didn’t like Chicago, I wouldn’t have signed that long of a deal.
“I like the organization and the leadership from owner Rocky Wirtz and it trickles down.
“It’s a chance to play for a contender and compete for the Cup because we are going to be there year after year,” he pledged.
Keith topped off his historic season by edging out Green and the L.A. Kings’ Drew Doughty for the Norris Trophy at the NHL awards in Las Vegas last month.
“It really is an honour to win the award,” he enthused. “When I got the trophy and saw the other names on it. . . .
“It’s pretty amazing to look at the list of names, like Bobby Orr and Doug Harvey, and the list goes on, so just to be in that category now, it’s an amazing feeling.
“I didn’t really know [of my chances],” Keith admitted. “I heard the talk, and I knew Mike Green and Drew Doughty had great seasons.
“Lucky for me the voting was in my favour.
“We were all a little nervous, but it was nice when I heard my name called,” he added.
Don’t expect Keith to forget his night at the awards banquet anytime soon, either. After winning the Norris, he said he took out a group of friends for a night in Vegas.
“We had a huge dinner out at some restaurant in The Bellagio, with a big table outside on the balcony overlooking where they do the water show, probably around 20 of us there,” he recalled.
“We had the whole deck to ourselves. It was a nice way to celebrate.
“Of course after that, we went out for a little bit,” he continued. “I wouldn’t say it was as good as ‘The Hangover,’ but we had a good time.
“It was a lot of fun.”
Keith also had a guest spot on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” with a few teammates.
“That was my second time being there, so I was a little more comfortable this time around,” he remarked. “It’s always neat to go on a show like that and meet Jay Leno and go to L.A. and hanging out in Hollywood.
“The places are pretty surreal out there.”
While on the show, Keith gave Leno a necklace with one of the seven teeth that were knocked out from a shot to the mouth during Game 6 of the Western Conference final.
“He was pretty happy about it,” Keith said. “We were laughing about it after the show, he was pretty surprised about it.
“I don’t know if he still got it or not,” he conceded. “He might have thrown that one out in the garbage.”
After the playoff run, Keith got seven temporary teeth put in. But he still has about seven hours of dental work left once he gets back to Chicago.
“When you’re a kid growing up, you see the players playing through injury,” he remarked. “It’s one of those things where everything is about winning and sacrificing, and that’s the thing at the end of the day that people need to do their part.”
The season was a mighty long for Keith as he played in more than 110 games during the season, including playoffs and the Olympics in Vancouver.
But for him, it was all worth it.
“The Olympic gold medal was nice because you got your whole country behind you and you are playing for your whole country,” Keith declared.
“It’s just a honour to be named to the team and so you want to play as hard as you can.
“If you weren’t playing in it, you would be watching it with everyone else, so to bring home the gold medal, it was a special feeling.”
He always will remember where he was when possibly the biggest goal in Canadian history was scored when Sidney Crosby beat U.S. goalie Ryan Miller five-hole in overtime of the gold-medal game.
“I saw it right away as it went in as I had a good view of it from the bench at the time. It was just ecstatic,” Keith recalled.
“You go through so many emotions throughout the tournament and to finally get the goal, the one we talked about as a team and set out to achieve.
“We knew there was so much pressure with so many people watching, it was just amazing.”
Meanwhile, this off-season will be one of change for the Blackhawks as they desperately try to lock up important free agents while staying below the NHL’s salary cap of $55.85 million.
Since the end of their Cup run, the squad already has dealt away Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel, Andrew Ladd, Kris Verstegg, Colin Fraser, and Ben Eager to shed salary.
They still need to re-sign restricted free-agent goalie Niemi and Niklas Hjalmarsson, as well.
“It’s tough because you’re good friends, but you hear rumours during the season and lots of talk that things are going to change,” noted Keith.
“Then reality sets in [that] there has to be changes made, and that’s the reality that changes need to be made and who knows if there are going to be more?
“At the end of the day, it’s still a business,” Keith reasoned. “Now we need the young guys to step in and play the role and step up.
“In today’s cap world in the NHL we need to live with, we need to identify, a core and it’s a great group of guys to play with,” he stressed.
“We have Toews and Kane up front and giving the puck to them, it’s a lot of fun out there.”
Through it all, Keith will not forget his roots in Fort Frances—even mentioning the town in his post-game interview during the Stanley Cup celebrations.
“I would like to [come to Fort Frances], but it’s such a busy summer,” he said. “I just got back to British Columbia now, so I can’t say I have any plans getting back [to Fort Frances].
“As of now, there [are] eight weekends out here and seven of them are booked up for things like charity golf tourneys, so the time just seems to fly by on a short summer like this.
“At the same time, it’s nice to relax like this at my home and rest for what is most important, which is next season.
“Fort Frances is where I had my childhood there [until] I was 14 years old and so I have a lot of great memories in Fort Frances,” Keith added.
“It’s basically where I learned how to skate, playing on the outdoor rink in the east end with all my buddies.
“I think it’s a great place to grow up for a kid, and I hope there is more young players who see that and come out of Fort Frances because you don’t have to be from a big city like Toronto to grow up and end up playing in the NHL, and I think I’m proof for that.
“I always cherish my time there and I wish I could get back,” Keith reiterated. “This summer it might not work out, but maybe next summer.
“I can’t guarantee anything.”
In the end, he decided his lone day with hockey’s holy grail would be spent in Penticton.
“Obviously, it was a tough decision but at the same time, I have my house here, I’ve made my life here ever since I was 14 years old, so I’ve been coming back to Penticton for a long time,” he noted.
“The problem is I only get it for one day and it’s not really a full day, so I get it about 8 in the morning to 11 at night.
“It would be different if I had to two days with the Cup.”
In fact, Keith said he’s still finalizing plans with Lord Stanley’s mug.
When asked what he would do for his day with the Cup if the Blackhawks repeated as champs next year, Keith replied, “We will have to talk about it next year, but it’s definitely a possibility.”

2010 Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks Drop By NBC’S ‘The Tonight Show’ On MondayPlayoff MVP and Team Captain Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook Will Bring the Famed Cup to BurbankFriday, 06.11.2010 / 8:35 PM / News

By NBC Press Release

 

BURBANK, Calif. – After defeating the Philadelphia Flyers to win their first NHL Stanley Cup since 1961, the Chicago Blackhawks will continue the celebration by bringing the famed Stanley Cup to NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” (Monday-Friday, 11:35 p.m. ET) on Monday, June 14.

Coming to Burbank will be Conn Smythe award winner as playoff MVP and team captain Jonathan Toews, winning goal-scorer Patrick Kane, and defensemen Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith – the latter of whom famously lost seven teeth during Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals against the San Jose Sharks.

On March 16, the entire Blackhawks team made an appearance on the show where their Olympic participants from the U.S. and Canada showed off their gold and silver medals. This time the players are scheduled to do a walk-on at the end of the monologue to celebrate their newest trophy.

“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” is from Big Dog Productions in association with Universal Media Studios. Debbie Vickers is the executive producer.

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

 

Jay Leno talks to Patrick Kane, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews during Monday's "Tonight Show." (NBC photos)

 

Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith caps season with Norris Trophy

By: Chris Johnston, The Canadian Press 23/06/2010 9:48 PM |  LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Duncan Keith had plenty of reason to show off his new teeth.The Chicago Blackhawks defenceman couldn't stop smiling after accepting the Norris Trophy as the league's top blue-liner at the NHL's awards gala on Wednesday evening. It was quite a way to top off a season that saw him win an Olympic gold medal and the Stanley Cup."It's just been a whirlwind," said Keith. "It seems like it's one thing after the next. You want to get rest, you want to sleep, but at that same time you don't want to miss any of the fun."The 26-year-old has spent some time in a dental chair since the Stanley Cup ended. The big gap in the front of his mouth has been filled with some pearly whites — although they're just a stop-gap solution for the seven teeth he lost after taking a puck in the face during the Western Conference final."They're temporary ones right now," said Keith. "It's nice to have teeth in and a better smile, but they don't feel that great to be honest with you. They're all plastic so I don't feel anything when I'm chewing with them."The 26-year-old won the Norris Trophy over Mike Green of the Washington Capitals and Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings. He registered career highs in goals (14), assists (55) and points (69) and posted a plus-21 rating.Keith's acceptance speech was cut off and he was quick to tell the media that he didn't have time to thank defence partner Brent Seabrook. The award would never of been his with the help of teammates."A lot has to go right," said Keith. "It's really a lot of times you're on a good team, and I was fortunate enough to be on a good team this year."It's been an incredibly busy few weeks. After taking part in Chicago's Stanley Cup parade and celebration, he was one of the players who flew to Los Angeles to appear on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno."With the awards now over, he's looking forward to getting back to his summer home in British Columbia for a little rest and relaxation. But he knows another season isn't too far away."It's nice to win this award and win championships," said Keith. "But I think as soon as the summer goes by and training camp starts going again, all the hunger will come back. It's nice to enjoy it now, but once you strap on the skates again everything's all about winning.

"And one year — one good year — is not going to make me satisfied."

 

 

Belief Keith can claim a unique triple crown

Duncan Keith, Penticton's pride and joy, and Tsawwassen's Brent Seabrook could soon belong to an exclusive club.

Should the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup they, along with Jonathan Toews, would join Ken Morrow, Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan as the only players to win an Olympic gold medal and the NHL championship in the same year.

"Duncan could win the Norris Trophy, too, and no one's ever won all three in the same year," said Rob McLaughlin, Keith's old bantam and power-skating coach. "There couldn't be a better guy to accomplish that."

That feeling seems to be shared by a lot of people in the Okanagan, but no one is cheering louder for the Hawks than Dave and Jean Keith, Duncan's mom and dad.

"We have our fingers crossed, we think it could be done," Dave Keith, a former bank manager, said.

Although Duncan Keith was born in Winnipeg then raised in remote Fort Frances on the Ontario-Minnesota border, there were always so many outdoor rinks within a block or two that his dad never had to flood the yard.

The Keiths moved to Penticton when Duncan was 14. Through his teenage years, while his friends scattered on Friday and Saturday nights to take advantage of all the social opportunities the Okanagan offers the young, he would stay home and shoot pucks or drag three tires by a rope he attached around his stomach all over the yard.

Whatever went through Dave Keith's mind back then as he surveyed the broken boards on the fence and the ripped-up lawn, it's all worth it now that his son is on the verge of claiming the triple crown.

Which raises an interesting question: Which is cooler, an Olympic gold or a Stanley Cup?

"For me, I have to say the Stanley Cup, for my wife it's the Olympic gold medal," Dave Keith said. "We're kind of split on that.

"As a kid growing up [in Manitoba] and as a dad [who coached Duncan in Atom and Peewee], we couldn't compete in the Olympics, so the Stanley Cup is everything to me and it was everything to Duncan as a kid.

"If I voted it would be a 6-5 score in favour of the Stanley Cup; my wife would probably put it 6-3 for the Olympic gold."

The Keiths cringed when Duncan took a Patrick Marleau blast to the face and they, like the rest of us, didn't know it would be seven teeth that fell out.

Dave Keith was just glad it wasn't a broken jaw, fractured cheek or shattered eye socket.

"I'm a little bit of a cold-hearted guy and he skated off, so I wasn't worried sick, put it that way," he said. "Jean, that's her baby boy and she wasn't too happy, but she's got a competitive spirit in her as well and she was happy to see him back on the ice."

Dave Keith and his 84-year-old dad, who came in from Winnipeg, were at Games 3 and 4 at GM Place for the Canucks series, and he and Jean hope to take in Games 5 and 7 of the final, if necessary.

"If we find someone to look after the dog and the cat," he added.

 

Keith could be NHL's top defender

By Jesse Rogers
ESPNChicago.com

LAS VEGAS -- He has a new set of teeth, now Duncan Keith is looking for something he can put on his mantle instead of his mouth: a Norris Trophy.

ESPNChicago.com Blackhawks blog

The latest news from Hawks beat reporter Jesse Rogers.

Keith and other nominees descended on Las Vegas on Tuesday in advance of Wednesday's NHL awards banquet.

"It was a long year and our team had some success and it was fun to be a part of [it]," Keith said Tuesday afternoon. "It would definitely be pretty special to win this award for sure."

If he does, he'll be able to flash a relaxed smile when he accepts now that he's seen the team dentist. Keith had seven teeth knocked out in a playoff game on May 24. It wasn't until last week that he was able to replace them.

"They're all plastic and just temporary until training camp," Keith explained. "That day I was in the chair for 6 or 7 hours. It was a long time to be in the chair for sure."

Keith and several other teammates who are in Las Vegas with him are prepared for the inevitable when it comes to their championship team. Within hours or days the Hawks will be shipping players out to make room under the salary cap. Some of the payroll the team sheds is needed to get Keith a handsome raise.

Hawks defenseman Duncan Keith joined the Afternoon Saloon to discuss his new teeth and his chances to win the Norris Trophy.

"You get asked that question throughout the year but now it's come right up to that point where it is time because of our cap situation," Keith said. "We probably could have been together for a long time."

Keith is up against stiff competition for the Norris award, given out to the best defenseman in the league. Mike Green, of Washington, had 76 points and was plus-39 for the year but is considered a purely offensive defenseman. The stiffer competition might come from 20-year-old do-it-all Kings blueliner Drew Doughty.

"When I was 20 I was in the minors," Keith said. "He's obviously well ahead of his age. Getting to play with him in the Olympics was great. He is going to have a great career."

Keith said either way, it's been a great year, especially the last 14 days, since his team won the Stanley Cup.

"I can't even remember the last two weeks," Keith said. "A lot of fun and craziness."

Keith a big piece of Blackhawks' puzzleMonday, 06.07.2010 / 11:56 AM / News

By Dan Rosen  - NHL.com staff writer

 

CHICAGO --  The Blackhawks call Duncan Keith "Jigsaw." Once Brian Campbell revealed why Sunday morning, the nickname took on a whole new meaning.
 
"He's a big fan of 'Saw' movies," Campbell said. "He loves serial killers, histories of serial killers."
 
Keith is a serial killer in his own right. His prey is players wearing the other uniform and his weapons are his skates and his stick. By using them, Keith is helping the Chicago Blackhawks slowly stick the dagger in the Philadelphia Flyers' Stanley Cup dreams.
 
Chicago grabbed a 3-2 lead in the Final with its 7-4 win Sunday night. Keith played a team-high 27:11 and chipped in with an assist on Dustin Byfuglien's game-winning goal with 4:15 to play in the second period. He was quarterbacking the power play at the time.
 
Game 6 is Wednesday at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia (8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, RDS).
 
"'Duncs,' with his skills, he makes things happen and we all need to follow him," Campbell said after calling Keith "weird" for his affinity for serial killers. "He gets in on plays. He takes care of himself and is prepared at all times. With his ability, especially his skating ability, he can cheat on plays and nothing really costs him."
 
Keith said he embraces his nickname, which is derived from the character in the Saw movies known as Jigsaw Killer, who never actually kills anyone.
 
"I read a lot of books on serial killers," he told Blackhawks TV earlier in the Final. "It's not to scare anyone."
 
Keith still strikes fear into the opposition.
 
He again controlled the Blackhawks' pace from the back end Sunday because he was fast, elusive and physical. The Hawks followed suit.
 
Due to his minus-2 rating, Keith called his performance "just average," but anybody watching knows he's been anything but a Grade C performer this spring and especially this series.
 
Keith has 1 goal and 5 assists in five games against the Flyers. He has led the Blackhawks in ice time in every game, skating at least 27 minutes a night. He played the equivalent of a full game plus 61 seconds in Games 3 and 4, and he never looked tired.
 
"He can control a good portion of a hockey game when he's on the ice," Hawks center John Madden said. "He's fun to watch and he's a really, really competitive kid that loves playing hockey. When you get him going like he was (Sunday), he's very hard to knock off his game."
 
Asked by NHL.com if it's overstating Keith's impact to say the Hawks take their cues from his speed, Madden said he couldn't say yes or no even though by now it's clear as glass that when Keith is skating fast and joining the rush the Hawks are so much more dangerous than when he isn't.
 
"When you have a guy in the back end that can move up and be like that fourth forward all the time or leading the rush, it allows for other guys to do certain things," Madden said. "He just helps out in so many ways."
 
Even so, the Blackhawks' No. 1 defenseman, a Norris Trophy finalist, is playing second-fiddle in this Stanley Cup Final to Philadelphia's Chris Pronger, his polar opposite in so many ways.
 
Pronger talks loud, interacts with the media and delivers lines like, "I'm day-to-day with hurt feelings." Keith is quiet, monotone and hates talking about himself. It's not often you see him smile, let alone make a gaggle of reporters bust out in laughter.
 
But his and Pronger's impacts are one in the same and their ice time is almost identical. Keith has played 143 minutes and 28 seconds in the Final compared to Pronger's 148:48.
 
"I wish I could tell you that I noticed a change (in Keith's game Sunday), but that's a complement to him that I didn't," forward Patrick Sharp said. "When we're moving our feet and skating like we did, things can happen."
 
Keith's killer instincts are a big reason why.

PHILADELPHIA - JUNE 09: Duncan Keith #2 of the Chicago Blackhawks salutes after the Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime and win the Stanley Cup in Game Six of the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Wachovia Center on June 9, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith (2), center Jonathan Toews, second from left, and right wing Tomas Kopecky (82), of Slovakia, celebrate with assistant coach John Torchetti after the Blackhawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime to win Game 6 of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey finals on Wednesday, June 9, 2010, in Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA - JUNE 09: Danny Briere #48 of the Philadelphia Flyers fights for the puck against Duncan Keith #2 of the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Six of the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Wachovia Center on June 9, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

PHILADELPHIA - JUNE 09: Duncan Keith #2 of the Chicago Blackhawks handles the puck against Blair Betts #11 of the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Six of the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Wachovia Center on June 9, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

Duncan Keith on Wikepedia

Hawk Chat with Duncan Keith 11/16/2005