Joey Payeur
The wait is almost over for both Duncan Keith and local hockey fans.
On Saturday, Keith will return to the town that gave him his hockey start with two much-anticipated pieces of hardware in tow.
Those would be the Stanley Cup, of which Keith won his third last month as a defenceman with the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Conn Smythe Trophy, for which the former Times Tigers’ star unanimously was selected as playoff MVP.
“I’m excited; it’s been a long time,” said the 32-year-old two-time Olympic gold-medalist who currently makes his home in Pentiction, B.C.
“It’s nice to bring the Cup back and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” he added.
“I’m excited to see old friends and catch up again.”
Keith took the first Cup he won to Penticton in 2010. Then personal circumstances prevented him from visiting here after his second Cup in 2013.
“I’m glad I was able to win a third one so I could bring it back [to Fort Frances],” he noted.
“To win it for a third time is something I’m very proud of,” added the two-time Norris Trophy winner as the league’s best blueliner.
“This town deserves it,” Keith said. “There’s a lot of good people there and a lot of good hockey players that could come out of there.
“If I can inspire that, I’d be happy with that.”
Keith admitted the obligations of being an NHL player make it difficult to stay on top of what is happening in the community he called home from age two-15.
“I’ve kept up to date with a few old friends,” said Keith, who was chosen 54th overall by the Blackhawks back in 2002.
“But when hockey season starts, it’s go-go-go.
“The last five, six years, it seems like it’s been 10 months’ straight,” he noted.
“When the season ends, it’s nice to get away and take my mind off things.”
Keith said he’s pleased two more indoor playing facilities (the Ice for Kids Arena and the Couchiching Arena) have been built since his days when the old Memorial Arena (now the ’52 Canadians Arena) was the only sheltered ice surface in town.
Part of Saturday will see Keith doing a tour of the community—stopping at various places along the way which have special meaning to him.
“When you get your day with the Cup, you want to involve as many people as you can,” said Keith, who came up with the idea to do the tour.
“So if you can bring the Cup to an old folks’ home or to a hospital, it’s nice to go into those places and spruce their day up a bit,” he reasoned.
“The point of winning the Cup is sharing it with people.”
The Blackhawks, meanwhile, have gone through some significant roster turnover since winning the Cup last month.
The team dealt top-six forward Brandon Saad to the Columbus Blue Jackets for four players, including forward Artem Anisimov, on June 30.
Then they lost forward Antoine Vermette, who signed a two-year free-agent contract July 7 with the Arizona Coyotes—the team that had dealt him to the ’Hawks at this past season’s trade deadline.
Veteran forward Brad Richards signed that same day as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings.
To top it off, one of Keith’s closest friends was sent packing three days later.
Forward Patrick Sharp from Thunder Bay was traded to the Dallas Stars, along with blueliner Stephen Johns, for veteran defenceman Trevor Daley and forward Ryan Garbutt.
“There’s always questions the last two times we won about how the team was going to react [to roster changes],” noted Keith.
“We always do a good job as individuals to do our best to control our situation,” he said.
“We always find good guys to come in to fill holes.
“I wouldn’t count us out this year,” warned Keith.
“We could end up surprising a few people even though that sounds weird since we just won the Cup.”
Opening ceremonies for Keith’s day with the Cup will take place Saturday at 10 a.m. at the ’52 Canadians Arena, with doors opening at 8:30 a.m.
