Matt Keith (born April 11, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who last played and captained Braehead Clan of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Islanders.

Matt Keith
Born (1983-04-11) April 11, 1983 (age 41)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Right
Played for Chicago Blackhawks
New York Islanders
ERC Ingolstadt
Örebro HK
HC Karlovy Vary
Dornbirner EC
EC Red Bull Salzburg
Braehead Clan
NHL draft 59th overall, 2001
Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career 2003–2017

Playing career

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Keith was drafted 59th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. He appeared in his first NHL game on February 24, 2004, against the Philadelphia Flyers. On March 1 of that same year against the Nashville Predators, he scored his first goal.

On December 29, 2006, he was traded along with Sébastien Caron and Chris Durno to the Ducks in exchange for P. A. Parenteau and Bruno St. Jacques.[1]

On January 9, 2008, he was traded to the Islanders from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Darryl Bootland. Keith appeared in 3 games with the Islanders upon the completion of the 2007–08 season. On July 25, 2008, Keith signed with German team ERC Ingolstadt of the DEL.

For the 2009–10 season Keith returned to North America signing with, the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL, affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks.[2] Scoring 21 goals in 69 games for the IceHogs, Keith was then signed to a one-year contract with fellow AHL team, the Abbotsford Heat, affiliate of the Calgary Flames on September 28, 2010.[3]

After one season in Sweden with second division side, Örebro HK, Keith moved to the Czech Republic, signing a one-year free agent contract with HC Karlovy Vary on July 9, 2012.[4] After only four games into the 2012–13 Czech Extraliga season, Keith left Karlovy to sign a try-out contract with Dornbirner EC of the Austrian Hockey League on October 8, 2012.[5] He remained with the Bulldogs for the remainder of the year to total 28 points in 37 games.

Following three years in the UK with Braehead Clan, where Keith captained the team, the forward announced his departure from the EIHL in April 2017.[6] He later announced his retirement from professional hockey after 14 seasons.[7]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1998–99 Spokane Chiefs WHL 7 1 0 1 4
1999–2000 Spokane Chiefs WHL 39 1 3 4 37 15 1 2 3 11
2000–01 Spokane Chiefs WHL 33 13 14 27 63 12 1 3 4 14
2001–02 Spokane Chiefs WHL 68 34 33 67 71 11 5 5 10 16
2002–03 Spokane Chiefs WHL 7 2 2 4 11
2002–03 Red Deer Rebels WHL 49 25 26 51 32 23 6 7 13 30
2003–04 Norfolk Admirals AHL 66 13 13 26 57 8 1 2 3 10
2003–04 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 20 2 3 5 10
2004–05 Norfolk Admirals AHL 80 18 31 49 74 6 0 1 1 0
2005–06 Norfolk Admirals AHL 72 26 19 45 61 3 0 1 1 0
2005–06 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 2 0 0 0 0
2006–07 Norfolk Admirals AHL 19 2 8 10 15
2006–07 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 2 0 0 0 4
2006–07 Portland Pirates AHL 44 10 12 22 22
2007–08 Portland Pirates AHL 34 5 5 10 13
2007–08 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 42 8 9 17 22
2007–08 New York Islanders NHL 3 0 0 0 0
2008–09 ERC Ingolstadt DEL 46 15 13 28 60
2009–10 Rockford IceHogs AHL 69 21 20 41 27 4 0 0 0 2
2010–11 Abbotsford Heat AHL 77 20 15 35 45
2011–12 Örebro HK Allsv 52 11 16 27 40 10 2 4 6 6
2012–13 HC Energie Karlovy Vary ELH 4 0 0 0 4
2012–13 Dornbirner EC AUT 37 7 21 28 66
2013–14 EC Red Bull Salzburg AUT 53 7 8 15 37 13 3 1 4 12
2014–15 Braehead Clan EIHL 51 18 44 62 59 2 0 0 0 2
2015–16 Braehead Clan EIHL 46 19 29 48 67 2 0 1 1 2
2016–17 Braehead Clan EIHL 52 13 18 31 52 2 0 0 0 0
AHL totals 503 123 132 255 336 21 1 4 5 12
NHL totals 27 2 3 5 14

References

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  1. ^ "Blackhawks send Caron to Ducks in multi-player deal". ESPN. December 28, 2006. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  2. ^ "Rockford sets 2009-10 opening night roster". Rockford IceHogs. October 1, 2009. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  3. ^ "Keith, Nyren signed by Heat". American Hockey League. September 28, 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  4. ^ "Vary add energy impact player Keith" (in Czech). HC Karlovy Vary. July 9, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  5. ^ "Dornbirner recruit Canadian striker Keith" (in German). Dornbirner EC. October 8, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  6. ^ "Keith announces departure from Braehead". Elite Ice Hockey League. April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  7. ^ Matt Keith (July 20, 2017). "Amazing retirement present". Twitter. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
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