Oilers become frontrunners to land Duncan Keith!

A trade could be completed soon…

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
Oilers become frontrunners to land Duncan Keith!
Zuma Press

On Wednesday, speculation emerged that the Chicago Blackhawks were working on a trade to ship out veteran defenseman Duncan Keith. Sportsnet’s insider Elliotte Friedman added to the rumour when he stated later on that the blue liner could be moved to either the Pacific Northwest or Western Canada. 


It has now been reported by Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal that the Oilers have become frontrunner to land Keith. Leavins goes on to explain how the Oilers need  a solid, reliable blue liner in case sidelined Oscar Klefbom misses next season. He missed the entire 2021 campaign because of a chronic shoulder injury. 

Leavins believes there’s mutual interest between the Oilers and Keith’s camp as the 37-year-old is reportedly hoping to be traded a club close to his offseason home in Penticton, BC to be near his son.

The Oilers fanbase might be worried of its team’s interest in Keith and his decline in his performance in recent years. However, Leavins feels has enough left to get behind Darnell Nurse on the right side. He also carries a reasonable $5.538 million annual average value for two more seasons.

This potential trade will all come down to the Hawks’ asking price. Chicago might need to consider retaining part of Keith’s cap hit to get a trade finalized. The Hawks might be asked to take a contract like James Neal or Mikko Koskinen in return.  Neal has two years left on his contract at $5.75 million per season, while Koskinen might be preferable with a year left at $4.5 million, provided Chicago’s on his list of agreeable trade destinations. The Hawks would then, of course, buy out that contract. 

Let’s keep an eye on this trade rumour that is heating up fast!