Chicago Blackhawks: Duncan Keith Needs To Earn His "A" Back

The Chicago Blackhawks have one of the best defensive pairings in the NHL signed to patrol the blue line for at least the next five seasons. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are set to enter the prime years of their careers in Chicago and will be looking to reclaim their dominance after a frustrating season.

Keith currently is one of Chicago's alternate captains. Should that letter be sewn to Seabrook's sweater instead?

The "A" may stay firmly on Keith's chest as it has been since 2008, but his performance this past season certainly gave fans cause for question.

Keith personified the Blackhawks' post-championship funk for much of the 2010-11 season. Keith's playoff admission that he hadn't sufficiently prepared for the defense of the Stanley Cup was disheartening. At the same time, it wasn't something that came out of the blue.

Keith admitted on at least one occasion during the season that he found it difficult to focus his effort on things as mundane as regular-season games. That attitude concerns me even more that his drop in production.

Let's face facts. The drop in production was also a problem.

Keith may have had difficulty matching his Norris Trophy numbers of a year ago regardless of where his head was at, but Keith sank like a stone in 2010-11. Goals dropped from 14 to seven and assists went from 55 to 38. His plus/minus plummeted from plus-21 to a minus-one.

Keith's numbers were more in line with his 2008-09 season than his big season last year (excluding his plus/minus, which was his worst since his rookie season). His shots tended to find the shins of opposing players and Keith found himself chasing down breakaways with far more regularity.

To be fair to Keith, the 'Hawks' failure to secure a solid third pairing led to a mixing and matching solution that saw Keith on the ice with different linemates. He saw a lot of minutes in charge of rookie Nick Leddy, which seemed to perk him up a bit despite a number of breakdowns committed by the pair.

Keith also led NHL defensemen in time on ice per contest, averaging 26:53 a game. That led the league by almost a 40-second margin. Loading a player with big ice time who wasn't mentally all there some nights wasn't a recipe for success.

Numbers aside, the lack of preparation and intensity is the disturbing part of Keith's season. I can forgive Keith to a degree for finding the going rough after the lofty highs of his previous season. I empathize with a young athlete struggling to match the intensity of a championship year.

That said, Keith looked like his focus was elsewhere on a regular basis and didn't look ready to play when the season began. Is this a player management should be holding up as a leader on this team?

Keith would seem to have sufficient motivation to rebound from a difficult season. Regardless of whether he starts the season with an "A" on his sweater or not, he certainly needs to take steps toward earning that letter back.