Kalman: Improved McQuaid Making Positive Impact On Bruins Since Return From Injury
By Matt Kalman
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's blasphemous to say such things in some circles within the borders of New England, but Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid is off to a pretty solid start this season.
McQuaid, a favorite bashing post of sports-talk radio hosts and the "Twitterati," of course missed the first five games of the season because of injury. At 30 years old, and having missed close to a quarter of almost every season (including 2013-14 when he missed more than half the season) since he became an NHL regular, McQuaid isn't going to ever shake the injury-prone tag.
What he can shake is the concept that he's just a sloth-like defenseman who's only useful for his physicality. So far this season, McQuaid has a Corsi For percentage of 53.9 percent after he was at 48.9 percent last season. He has no points so far but has been connecting on his outlet passes and keeping plays alive with timely pinches.
Although McQuaid's possession stats might not be sustainable for a full season based on history and ability, a couple of factors might play into McQuaid's favor in terms maintaining his current level of play.
First, there was the dedication to improvement McQuaid showed last summer when for the first time he spent the majority of his time in Boston, working out with local trainers and skating with other pros. Second are the tweaks coach Claude Julien has made to the system, which allow the Bruins to be more aggressive and move the puck faster to limit the amount of time they spend in their own end. Many people's lasting impression of McQuaid is of him deflecting a goal past Tuukka Rask (like in Minnesota last week) or losing coverage in front of the net, but now there should be less opportunity for these things to happen.
Although he admits he's still trying to get comfortable with the tweaks, McQuaid has provided the Bruins a lift. They're 7-5-0 since he returned from injury and he's been a key to the recent string of four wins in five games by solidifying the second pair along with Torey Krug.
"With Adam it's always about his puck movement and he's been moving the puck fairly well. His gap is also another area where we stay on top of that. He's so conscientious about the defensive part of his game, he never wants to get caught on the offensive side and so he has a tendency sometimes to be a little too slack in his gaps," Julien said.
McQuaid said it's a challenge for him to stay focused and keep moving his feet. With his skill set, it's natural for him to want to sit back and defend. But that's not going to work in the high-pace NHL and actually doesn't play to his strengths now that there are so many quick skaters buzzing around.
It's no coincidence that Krug has been playing some of his best hockey since McQuaid's return. Even if they should be cast as a third pair instead of a second, the Krug-McQuaid combo has held its own during a crucial time when the Bruins' season could've started sliding down the drain with so many games on the road.
McQuaid's called Boston his in-season home since the 2010-11 season, and the only negative to his staying in the area last offseason might've been the extra exposure to some of the criticism about him. He intentionally stays away from social media, but between radio and television it's impossible to not catch wind of some of the derogatory comments.
He said in person most people only have supportive things to say and this season he's been doing a better job of blocking out the outside noise. Part of the reason McQuaid has a target on his back is the $2.75 million salary he's making per year through the end of the 2018-19 season. He's willing to deal with people holding him to a higher standard, because he does the same.
"I guess it's like for anybody, it doesn't necessarily change who you are as a person or a player. You're obviously continuing to want to improve and make more out of your game but with those [things] probably come more expectations and stuff like that," McQuaid said.
McQuaid's making a case to stay in the lineup for the long haul but there's no telling what will happen the rest of this season and beyond. Kevan Miller is on the mend and the Bruins have many prospects on defense working to taking McQuaid's job. If he can improve more, McQuaid should do it soon.
He's never going to be a top-two defenseman or even someone worthy of full-time status in a top four. But if he can play the way he has the past couple weeks for the next several months, he'll earn more playing time and possibly the benefit of the doubt from those who enjoy ridiculing him.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @MattKalman.
