As they lined up for the team photo with the Stanley Cup following their big win in Game Six against the Tampa Bay Lightning, some showed three fingers. Some showed two. Some showed one. The fingers represented the number of Cup wins they had enjoyed as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.
While Duncan Keith held three fingers on his hand, he had also accomplished something for the first time in his career. A Conn Smythe trophy with his name on it. The 2015 playoffs Most Valuable Player. A unanimous decision, according to the NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
Duncan Keith Joins Elite Group
In doing so, Keith became just the ninth defenseman to take the honor, breaking an eight-year drought of blueliners receiving the trophy. The last time it was awarded to a blueliner, you’d have to go back to 2007, when the Anaheim Ducks became Stanley Cup Champions and Scott Niedermayer was named the MVP. It also tied the second longest span between two defensemen winning the hardware, the last being Bobby Orr‘s sensational 1970 run with the Boston Bruins followed by “Big Bird” Larry Robinson, as a member of the 1978 Montreal Canadiens.
The longest span rests at 11 years, from Robinson in ’78 to Al MacInnis in 1989, as a member of the Calgary Flames.
Other winners include the very first defenseman to pull of this feat, Serge Savard in 1969, Brian Leetch in 1994, Scott Stevens in 2000 and Nicklas Lidstrom in 2002.
Keith became the first player to score the Cup-clinching goal and win the Conn Smythe since Lidstrom did it with the Wings in 2002. Also in ’02, Keith was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second-round, 54th overall. The only other defenseman from this group that was drafted outside of the first-round was Lidstrom, who went 53rd overall in the 1989 draft, the same year that MacInnis won the award.
So how impressive was Keith’s post-season performance? For starters, he became the fourth most-utilized defenseman in terms of minutes record, a stat that has been logged since 1998, finishing with a total of 715:37. Only Drew Doughty (747:33), Chris Pronger (742:55) and Nicklas Lidstrom (717:01) played more. Keith played the same amount of games as Lidstrom, one less than Pronger and three less than Doughty. Given his pace, Keith would have come kicking at Doughty’s heels. What’s even more impressive is Keith’s 21 points (3 goals, 18 assists), which beats out Doughty’s 18 points (5 goals, 13 assists) in 26 games, Lidstrom’s 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists) in 23 games and is more points per game than Pronger, who also posted 21 points (5 goals, 16 assists) in 24 games.
Keith scored the game-winning goal in game one against the Nashville Predators, a game that went to double overtime. Keith had played 55 shifts, totaling 39:51 of ice-time. Keith scored the game-winning goal in game six of the same series, with 3:48 left to play in the third period, to help eliminate the Predators. Keith didn’t score again until game six against the Tampa Bay Lightning, when he took a slick pass from Patrick Kane and slipped into Tampa’s zone. His initial shot was stopped by Ben Bishop but the rebound came right back to him and he made the second shot count.
Three goals. Three game-winners.
His 21 points also put him into a group of ten other defensemen who have put up 21 points or more during a single playoff run in league history. All of them are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, with the exception for Pronger, who is not eligible but is almost guaranteed to be in there once he does qualify.
Also, the eight defensemen who have won the Conn Smythe went on to enter the Hall of Fame.
Keith has finished top-five in scoring among the Blackhawks roster in the last three seasons, and finished sixth in the two seasons prior to that. In 766 regular season games, he has 75 goals and 340 assists. In the playoffs, 75 points (15 goals, 60 assists) in 116 games.
His accolades appear to be even more impressive. A 3-time NHL All-Star (2008, 2011 2015). A 2-time NHL First All-Star (2010, 2014). A 2-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2010, 2014). A 2-time Norris Winner (2010, 2014). A 3-time Stanley Cup Winner (2010, 2013, 2015).
And now, the 2015 Conn Smythe Winner.
In a decade of playing under the Chicago Blackhawks organization, a true Hall of Fame career has been created before our very eyes. The scary thing is, Duncan Keith is only 31. There’s still plenty of hockey left in him.
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