CHICAGO (WGN) — Former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith is headed to the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHF).
The HHF announced that Keith was one of four former players and eight individuals named to the 2025 Hall of Fame class. He is one of three players who were inducted in their first year of eligibility.
“I was lucky to play on some really good teams with some great players,” Keith said. “It’s been a journey with many ups and downs, and I want to thank the people who helped me get to this point in my life.”
Originally selected by Chicago in the second round of the 2002 NHL Draft, Keith is the all-time leader among Blackhawks defensemen in games played (1,192). He also ranks second in assists (520) and points (625), and ranks third in goals (105). Keith leads all Blackhawks defensemen in career postseason games played (135), assists (68) and points (86), and ranks fourth with 18 playoff goals.
The Winnipeg, Manitoba native won three Stanley Cups with Chicago in 2010, 2013 and 2015. He scored the Cup-clinching goal in Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Lighting in 2015, going on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (Stanley Cup playoffs MVP) that season. Additionally, Keith won the Norris Memorial Trophy (awarded each year to the league’s top defenseman) in 2010 and 2014, was named to the NHL’s First All-Star Team in 2009-10 and 2013-14, and earned Second All-Star Team honors in 2016-17.
Keith is the 48th Blackhawks player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, with the most recent being Jeremy Roenick.
“On behalf of the Chicago Blackhawks organization, I’d like to congratulate Duncan on being named to the Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2025,” Chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz said. “Duncan defined the modern archetype for a complete defenseman. His opponents feared his shutdown defense as much as they respected his offensive prowess.
“He played with grit and heart, giving his all every second he was on the ice. While Blackhawks fans have long understood Duncan’s profound impact on the game, we’re thrilled to see his legacy now celebrated on hockey’s biggest stage as he takes his well-deserved place among the game’s all-time greats.”
Internationally, Keith won two Olympic gold medals with Canada in 2010 and 2014 and a silver medal in the 2008 IIHF World Championship. In January 2017 as part of the NHL’s Centennial celebration, Keith was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players.
He played his final season with the Edmonton Oilers in 2021-22 and retired in July 2022.
Others joining Keith
Zdeno Chara, Joe Thornton and Alexander Mogilny were the three other former NHL players who joined Keith in the 2025 class.
Chara, a defenseman like Keith, and Thornton, a former forward, were the two other former NHL players elected in their first year of eligibility.
Chara played from 1997-2022 for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals and had 680 points (209 goals, 471 assists) in 1,680 games, the most games played by a defenseman and third among all players during his 25 years in the League. He averaged 23:33 of ice time per game and won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011. Chara won the Norris Trophy in 2008-09 and was a six-time finalist.
Thornton had 1,539 points (430 goals, 1,109 assists) in 1,714 games with the Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. He’s one of 16 players to have at least 1,500 career points and is sixth all-time in regular-season games played. In 2005-06, he won the Hart Trophy as the League’s most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy as its leading scorer with 125 points (29 goals, 96 assists). With Canada, he won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the 2004 and 2016 World Cup of Hockey and the 1997 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Mogilny made NHL history by becoming the first player from the Soviet Union to defect for the purpose of playing in the League. He had 1,032 points (473 goals, 559 assists) in 990 games with the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils and Maple Leafs. He won the Stanley Cup with the Devils in 1999-2000 and gold with the Soviet Union at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.
Two other players outside the NHL are also set to be inducted—former Canadian women’s national team forward Jennifer Botterill, and former United States women’s national team forward Brianna Decker.
Botterill is a three-time Olympic gold medal winner with Canada, in 2002 in Salt Lake City, 2006 in Torino and 2010 in Vancouver. She also won gold five times at the IIHF Women’s World Championship (1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007) and was the World Championship MVP in 2001 and 2004. She had 174 points (65 goals, 109 assists) in 184 games with Canada’s women’s team.
Decker had 170 points (81 goals, 89 assists) in 147 games with the U.S. team, which she helped win gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. She also won six gold medals with the U.S. at the Women’s World Championships (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019) and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame last year.
In the Builders Category, former Boston University coach Jack Parker and former Canadian women’s hockey coach, general manager and coaching consultant Daniele Sauvageau were elected.
Parker became Boston’s assistant coach in 1968 before becoming the Terriers’ coach three years later. His teams won three NCAA titles (1978, 1995, 2009) while appearing in a record 24 NCAA tournaments before he retired in 2013 after 40 seasons. He had 897 career wins, all at Boston.
Sauvageau is the first woman ever elected as a Builder in the Hockey Hall of Fame. She has taken part in seven Olympic games in various roles with Canada and led the Canadian women to gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, becoming the country’s first hockey coach of an Olympic team to win gold in 50 years.
Criteria for Induction
Candidates had to receive at least 75% of the vote from the selection committee to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. A maximum of four retired male players, two retired female players, two builders or one builder and one retired official may be inducted in a single year.
The Class of 2025 is scheduled to be inducted on Nov. 10 in Toronto.