Duncan Keith's Hall of Fame nod means he is no longer overlooked among Blackhawks legends

Chicago Blackhawks legendary defenseman Duncan Keith is a Hall of Famer. The Hockey Hall of Fame announced Keith will be part of the 2025 induction class.

Two Norris Trophies, two Olympic gold medals, a Conn Smythe, and having his name on the Stanley Cup three times certainly made him a shoo-in for hockey immortality.

Despite a legendary career, his greatness tends to get overlooked.

Forward Patrick Kane or center Jonathan Toews tends to get more love from Chicago. Granted, it is easy for those to be ranked ahead. Kane scored the most historic goal in franchise history and is in the top five of pretty much every Hawks offensive category. He might also be the greatest United States-born player to skate in the NHL.

Toews was the captain of those three Stanley Cup-winning teams, won the first Conn Smythe of that run, and nearly willed the Hawks to win the 2015 Western Conference Finals against Anaheim.

Heck, even Chris Chelios sometimes gets more love from his hometown than Keith. Chelly never won a Cup with the Blackhawks and skated for the rival Detroit Red Wings just as much as he played for the Hawks.

All four legends, but Keith, it seems, always gave just a bit more for the city.

None of them literally gave their teeth to stop a puck in a playoff game like Keith did in Game 4 of the 2010 Western Conference Finals. It was Keith who always seemed to be on the ice, shutting down rushes and killing scoring chances.

He always seemed to be at his best come playoff time.

The Hawks likely do not win those three titles if they did not have Keith, especially in 2015 when he won the Conn Smythe.

He was the leader of a defensive unit that not only won a title that year, but also was skating with just two pairings, Keith and Brent Seabrook, along with Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya.

He was the best playmaker during that title run, too, with 18 assists. However, it is easy to get overlooked when Keith was the one setting up the scoring--or stopping it--rather than being the one to light the lamp at key times like Kaner and Toews did.

He was not just a playoff guy either. He was darn good during the regular season with 646 career points and three All-Star appearances.

It is not to say he is not beloved in Chicago. It just always felt like on the appreciation rankings, it was Kane first, Toews second, and then Keith.

Granted, there are still plenty of Hawks fans with their No. 2 sweaters sitting in their closets, getting busted out on gameday even though Keith is long retired. One day, there will be a sellout crowd to celebrate that number being raised into the United Center rafters, as no Hawks player should ever wear two again.

Where his legend really tends to get overlooked is nationally.

While he made the NHL's Top 100 Greatest Players list, he was not named to the NHL's Quarter-Century team.

Fellow inductee Zdeno Chara got voted in. So did Cale Makar. Keith beat Chara in the 2013 Stanley Cup, and Keith has one more Norris Trophy and two more championship rings than Makar.

Guess you have to be more of a goal-scoring defenseman to truly get the love and respect an ironman like Keith deserves.

Although that does not matter now, as Keith got one of the three ultimate major accolades a legend can receive by being voted into the Hall of Fame. All that is left is for his number to be retired by the Blackhawks, a statue constructed and it being placed inside the United Center Atrium.