Edmonton Oilers hire Duncan Keith as Player Development Consultant

The Edmonton Oilers announced several hockey operations updates on Friday, including hiring Duncan Keith as a Player Development Consultant.

According to the team’s press release, Keith’s role with the Oilers will involve him visiting with their draft picks at the junior level and working with their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.

Keith spent 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks between 2005-06 and 2020-21 and won three Stanley Cups, two Norris Trophies as the league’s top defenseman, and one Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player during the playoffs. In 2017, he was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players ever as part of the league’s centennial celebration. He sits second on the Blackhawks’ all-time games played list at 1,192 and trails only Doug Wilson for the franchise lead in points by a defenseman.

Last summer, he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers where he’d fill in as a veteran presence on the team’s blueline following Adam Larsson’s departure in free agency. In Keith’s one and only season with the Oilers in 2021-22, the team reached the Western Conference Final for the first time since their 2006 Stanley Cup Final run. He announced his retirement in June.

Edmonton’s other hockey operations updates from Wednesday saw the team appoint Milan Tichy as Director of Amateur European Scouting, Warren Rychel and Jason Pietrzykowski as pro scouts, Jeff Salajko as a goaltending scout, and Christian Vermette as an amateur scout. The Oilers also promoted Kaite Doyle to Director, Team Services and Hockey Operations, added Tina Johnson as a nutrition consultant, and welcomed Tania Kenny as an executive assistant in hockey operations.