Chicago Blackhawks: Brent Seabrook Proves His Worth in Duncan Keith's Absence

The Chicago Blackhawks signed defenseman Brent Seabrook to a five-year, $29 million contract extension last season. He has proved his worth in the 2011-12 campaign, particularly over the last month.

Seabrook's offensive totals aren't going to match last year's career production, but his value to the Blackhawks has more than justified the long-term deal. Heading into the playoffs, Seabrook is Chicago's best overall defenseman and has been at the heart of the team's recent turnaround on the back end.

As Chicago has intensified its drive to the postseason, Seabrook has raised his game, with four goals in the 'Hawks' last 10 contests. He's carrying a skater rating of plus-nine in that span.

With Duncan Keith serving a five-game suspension that ended Sunday night, Seabrook recorded four points while his frequent blue-line partner was out. He also stepped up in the time-on-ice department, logging over 31 minutes March 31st in Nashville and coming in just seconds under the 30-minute mark against New Jersey and Minnesota.

You can point to Seabrook's scoring numbers being down significantly from last season's career-high of 48 points. On the other hand, Seabrook was an even skater in 2010-11 and is currently a plus-21 heading into the season's final two games.

Seabrook's game-winning goal against the Predators was his ninth goal, tying his career-best. Seabrook has three tallies of the game-winning variety—also a career mark.

Seabrook's increased presence, coupled with the trade-deadline acquisition of Johnny Oduya, has improved what was (and still is at times) a shaky defense. Whether you believe that Oduya was Plan A or Plan B, his addition to the roster has been a positive one.

With Niklas Hjalmarsson, Steve Montador and Sami Lepisto all missing time this spring, the heavy workload Oduya and Seabrook have been able to undertake has been vital to Chicago's recent run. The defense has seen a lot of games lost to injury. Seabrook is on pace to play in 78 games in the regular season, which would trail only Nick Leddy on the blue line.

Seabrook leads the team in both hits and blocked shots by a wide margin. His 198 hits are in the top 10 in the league at his position and are more than the next three 'Hawks defensemen (Nick Leddy, Oduya and Montador) combined.

Taking Seabrook out of the defensive mix completely robs the Blackhawks of a physical element on the back end. Chicago was 1-3 in the four games he missed, including ugly November losses to Calgary and Edmonton.

The Blackhawks have done a wonderful job surviving injuries to key players this season. Just the same, I hope Seabrook is ready to keep earning his new contract in the playoffs.