Junior/collegiate Keith played three years for the
Penticton Panthers from 1999–00 through 2000–01, scoring 78 goals and 148 assists for 226 points in 163 games. He was recruited by
Michigan State University and played
college hockey there for two years with the
Michigan State Spartans of the
Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). He scored a goal in his Spartans debut in the
Cold War, an outdoor game at
Spartan Stadium against the state-rival
University of Michigan Wolverines on October 6, 2001, the game set a record for attendance at their hockey games. He completed his freshman year with 3 goals and 15 points in 41 games, ranked fourth among team defencemen behind
John-Michael Liles,
Brad Fast and
Andrew Hutchinson. During Keith's second college season, he left the Spartans after 15 games to join the
major junior ranks. He returned to British Columbia to play for the
Kelowna Rockets of the
Western Hockey League (WHL) and amassed 46 points (11 goals and 35 assists) over 37 regular season games with a +32
plus-minus in his single season there. He also added 14 points in 19 playoff games.
Professional (2005–2022) Chicago Blackhawks (2005–2021) Keith was selected by the
Chicago Blackhawks in the second round, 54th overall, of the
2002 NHL entry draft. He signed with Chicago prior to the
2003–04 season and spent his first two seasons after junior in the
American Hockey League (AHL) with the team affiliate
Norfolk Admirals. He recorded seven goals and 25 points over 75 games in his professional rookie season in
2003–04. Keith's chances of earning a spot with the Blackhawks the following season were eliminated due to the
2004–05 NHL lock-out. Remaining with the Admirals, he continued his pace with 26 points in 79 games. Following two seasons in the AHL, Keith made the Blackhawks squad out of the 2005 training camp. He played in his first NHL game on October 5, 2005, against the
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He made an immediate impact on the club, scoring nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points, while averaging over 23 minutes of ice time in 81 games during his
2005–06 NHL rookie season. The Blackhawks re-signed him in the off-season to a four-year contract extension. In
2006–07, he played in all 82 games for the Blackhawks and once again led the team in average ice time at 23 minutes. He had two goals and 29 assists for 31 points while leading the team in blocked shots with 148. For the
2007–08 season, Keith saw even more ice time as injuries wracked the Blackhawks' defensive corps. He began the season on the top-defensive pairing with
Brent Seabrook. By mid-January, he was averaging 24:31 minutes of ice time and had a team leading plus-minus of +14. He was rewarded for this effort by a selection to his first
NHL All-Star Game in 2008. Keith went on to finish the season with 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points, along with a +30 plus-minus rating, despite being on a non-playoff team. On October 8, 2008, Keith was named an
alternate captain along with forward
Patrick Sharp to the start the
2008–09 season. He helped a rejuvenated Blackhawks team, led by second-year forwards
Jonathan Toews and
Patrick Kane, back into the
Stanley Cup playoffs, recording 8 goals and 44 points, second among team defencemen to
Brian Campbell. He added 6 points in 17 playoff games as the Blackhawks advanced to the
Western Conference Finals, where they were eliminated by
Central Division rivals, the defending Stanley Cup champion
Detroit Red Wings. With Keith having established himself with Seabrook as one of the top shutdown pairings in the league, he made significant offensive improvement in
2009–10. On December 3, 2009, the Blackhawks announced having extended Keith's contract simultaneously with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. At $72 million over 13 years, Keith's contract was the most lucrative in team history, surpassing
Marián Hossa's 12-year, $62.8 million contract signed several months prior in July 2009. He completed the season with 14 goals and 55 assists for 69 points in all 82 contests, ranked second among league defencemen behind
Mike Green of the
Washington Capitals. In the
2010–11 season, Chicago barely qualified for the
2011 playoffs as the eighth and final seed in the West just two points ahead of the
Dallas Stars. Keith's individual production decreased to seven goals and 38 assists 45 points over all 82 games for a second straight season. Facing the
Presidents' Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the playoffs, the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks were eliminated in seven games. Keith recorded four goals and two assists in all seven games during the series. On March 23, 2012, Keith was suspended five games for delivering an elbow to the head of Vancouver Canucks forward
Daniel Sedin. Head of the Department of Player Safety
Brendan Shanahan observed that the hit was "dangerous, reckless, and caused injury" in his video release. On June 4, 2013, Keith received a one-game suspension for a slash to the face of Los Angeles Kings' forward
Jeff Carter during Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. The league, in announcing the suspension, referred to the slash as "a one handed upward swing" which struck Carter directly in the face causing a laceration which required 20 stitches to close. After defeating the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings in five games in the Western Conference Finals, Keith and the Blackhawks defeated the
Boston Bruins in six games in the
Stanley Cup Final and Keith assisted on the late game tying goal by
Bryan Bickell in game six before
Dave Bolland scored the series clinching goal moments later. In the following season, Keith tallied six goals and 55 assists while maintaining a +22 plus-minus rating over 79 games. He was with gold-medallist Team Canada at the
2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Keith recorded four goals and seven assists in the
2014 playoffs, but lost to Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference Finals, the eventual champions. After the season's conclusion, Keith was awarded his second Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenceman. On June 15, 2015, Keith won his third Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks. His
2015 playoffs performance resulted in the
Conn Smythe Trophy for playoffs MVP, after scoring the winning goal on
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender
Ben Bishop. He joins
Henrik Zetterberg in having achieved scoring the Cup-winning goal and receiving the Conn Smythe Trophy in the same year in
2008. On March 29, 2016, Keith was checked to the ice by
Minnesota Wild forward
Charlie Coyle and retaliated with his stick—Coyle required medical attention having blood dripping from his nose. Keith was given a match penalty for intent to injure. A review would lead to his suspension from the last five games of the regular season and the first game of the
2016 playoffs – causing Keith to forfeit $148,883.35 in salary under the terms of the
NHL collective bargaining agreement. On December 11, 2018, Keith and teammate Brent Seabrook became the first pair of defencemen, and the seventh duo in NHL history, to play 1,000 games together. On November 29, 2019, in a 5–2 loss to the
Colorado Avalanche, Keith sustained a groin injury while trying to back check against Avalanchhe' forward
Valeri Nichushkin, causing him to miss the next nine games. On May 6, 2021, Keith sustained a
concussion as a result of his head being smacked by the knee of linesman Ryan Gibbons in a 2–1 OT win over the
Carolina Hurricanes, causing him to miss the final two games of the
COVID-19 pandemic-shortened
2020–21 season Edmonton Oilers (2021–2022) In late-June 2021, it was reported that Keith had requested a trade from the Blackhawks to
Western Canada or the
Pacific Northwest of the United States to be closer to his family (who live in
Penticton, British Columbia) as he finished out his career. On July 12, Keith's sixteen season run with the Blackhawks came to an end when he, along with
Tim Söderlund, were traded to the
Edmonton Oilers in exchange for
Caleb Jones and a conditional third-round pick in
2022. Keith left the Chicago organisation holding numerous distinctions, including the second most games played in team uniform, second most points by a blueliner (behind only
Doug Wilson) and having led the team in ice time for every season he played. At the time of the trade, a number of
analytical models rated Keith as one of the worst defencemen in the NHL from the previous abbreviated season. On February 9, 2022, in a 4–1 loss to his former team, the Chicago Blackhawks, Keith sustained a
concussion as he lost his footing and slid into the boards, resulting in him missing the next nine games. Despite the skepticism from media prior to the season starting, Keith was generally regarded as having performed solidly in his debut season in Edmonton, recording one goal and 20 assists for 21 points in 64 games played, largely on the second pair. He spent much of the second half of the season partnered with
Evan Bouchard, who credited him as a valuable mentor. The Oilers finished the season second in the
Pacific Division, advancing into the
2022 playoffs. The team defeated the
Los Angeles Kings and the
Calgary Flames in the first two rounds, meeting the top seeded and eventual Stanley Cup Champion
Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals before being defeated in a four game sweep. Following the end of the season, the Oilers reportedly asked Keith to clarify by July 1, 2022, whether he intended to play another season or retire. Keith officially announced his retirement on July 12. ==Post-playing career==