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Feb 23, 2020; Dallas, Texas, USA; Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith (2) in action during the game between the Stars and the Blackhawks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

MSU Alum Inducted to be Inducted into Hockey HOF

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Greg Liodice | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 8:00 AM ET

A Michigan State legend will forever be immortalized in hockey history.

On Tuesday, the Hockey Hall of Fame announced its class of 2025 inductees . Among them was former Spartan defenseman and longtime NHL defenseman Duncan Keith.

Playing 1,256 regular season games and 151 playoff games, Keith carried a longstanding legacy with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Drafted in the second round, 54th overall by the Blackhawks, Keith had an unusual route to the pros. He started his career at Michigan State. Midway through his sophomore year, he left school to join the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League.

Once his season in Kelowna ended, he signed an entry-level deal and began his professional journey in Norfolk, where he spent two full seasons in the American Hockey League.

Throughout his time in Norfolk, he developed into a reliable defender — so much so that Chicago kept him on board to start the 2005-06 season right out of training camp.

He didn’t look out of place, scoring nine goals with 12 assists in 81 games.

As he gained more experience, his game grew stronger. By his third season, he was named an alternate captain and elevated his play to 12 goals, 20 assists, and built outstanding chemistry with partner Brent Seabrook.

Chicago was trending upward. The team made the playoffs in Keith’s fourth season, ultimately falling in the Conference Finals to the Detroit Red Wings. But the following year, 2010, marked the beginning of a dynasty.

Alongside Seabrook, Patrick Kane and captain Jonathan Toews, the Blackhawks won what had been their first Stanley Cup since 1961.

Keith posted a career-high 69 points that season, won the Norris Trophy (awarded to the league’s best defenseman), and took home Olympic gold with Team Canada.

He won two more Stanley Cups in 2013 and 2015 — and the individual honors didn’t stop there. In 2014, Keith captured his second Norris Trophy and won another Olympic gold in Sochi.

Then, in 2015, he added one of the most prestigious honors in hockey: the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, capping off one of the most dominant postseason runs by a defenseman in modern NHL history.

From 2015 on, he remained productive. While he never returned to the same level of playoff success (outside of one season with the Edmonton Oilers), Keith was always recognized as one of the NHL’s most complete and consistent blueliners.

When fans look back on the Blackhawks' golden era, it’s hard to imagine it without Duncan Keith — the backbone of the franchise and the first line of defense when things broke down on the ice.

He was a leader. He was a winner. And now, he’s forever a member of hockey royalty.

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