DUNCAN KEITH - Defenseman - 36 - $5.53MM Cap Hit - UFA in 2023-2024
LAST UPDATED 7/28/19
Duncan Keith is one of the greatest defensemen to ever wear a Blackhawk sweater, and he's one of the NHL's legendary "top 100" players. That being said, at 36 years old, Duncan Keith has lost a step and is no longer the elite #1 defenseman he once was. The heavy amount of minutes Keith used to be able to regularly endure seem to have taken a toll on his abilities, and he's not as smooth of a skater or as effortless of a playmaker as he once was. He's still got incredibly high hockey IQ and can reliably kill penalties, but expecting him to anchor a top pairing and carry lesser defensive partners would be a mistake. Isolated impact metrics are very low on Keith's talent level, measuring him as a strong liability on 5v5 defense (especially in front of the net) and a negative impact play driver on 5v5 offense. While those numbers aren't catch-all evaluations of his talent, they are worrying. Keith is smart enough and experienced enough to find his way to solid minutes of hockey, but perhaps sheltering his minutes as he ages would be the best way to preserve his skills. As of right now, he's somewhere in between his prior hall of fame form and the bleak picture his isolated impact metrics show, as more of a #3 defenseman than the true #1 many fans still see him as.
Duncan Keith is one of the greatest defensemen to ever wear a Blackhawk sweater, and he's one of the NHL's legendary "top 100" players. That being said, at 36 years old, Duncan Keith has lost a step and is no longer the elite #1 defenseman he once was. The heavy amount of minutes Keith used to be able to regularly endure seem to have taken a toll on his abilities, and he's not as smooth of a skater or as effortless of a playmaker as he once was. He's still got incredibly high hockey IQ and can reliably kill penalties, but expecting him to anchor a top pairing and carry lesser defensive partners would be a mistake. Isolated impact metrics are very low on Keith's talent level, measuring him as a strong liability on 5v5 defense (especially in front of the net) and a negative impact play driver on 5v5 offense. While those numbers aren't catch-all evaluations of his talent, they are worrying. Keith is smart enough and experienced enough to find his way to solid minutes of hockey, but perhaps sheltering his minutes as he ages would be the best way to preserve his skills. As of right now, he's somewhere in between his prior hall of fame form and the bleak picture his isolated impact metrics show, as more of a #3 defenseman than the true #1 many fans still see him as.
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