Back in black
Cornwall’s Adam McQuaid said he feels a sense of loyalty to the Boston Bruins.
Adam McQuaid contemplated wearing a different NHL uniform next season in the days before resigning with the Boston Bruins.
The rugged defenceman agreed to a deal on June 26 prior to the NHL draft. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent on Canada Day.
“The closer and closer it got to that timeframe, I had to prepare myself for it, so I wasn’t completely taken off-guard by the situation,” McQuaid said. “It was different to try and picture myself in other places and where I might be a good fit.”
The Bruins and McQuaid left the door open for a return following his sixth season in Beantown.
McQuaid, the 28-year-old Cornwall native, said he was preparing to watch the draft when he received a call around lunchtime regarding the Bruins interest in getting a deal done soon.
“I didn’t expect it to come together that quick,” he said.
“When Boston came back with trying to get something done it was hard to picture myself going anywhere else.”
He said there are a lot of positives to returning to Boston, including a familiarity with staff and many teammates. He also said he feels a loyalty to the team he broke into the NHL with and stuck by him through injuries which have cost him 50 games in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
“They traded for me coming out of junior, gave me opportunities to develop and stuck with me through some unfortunate period of times where I wasn’t able to play,” McQuaid said. “I feel like I owe a lot to that organization and that team.”
McQuaid’s signing was one of a few dominoes to fall on draft day as the Bruins reshaped their roster and gained cap-room flexibility. They shipped young defenceman Dougie Hamilton to Calgary and power forward Milan Lucic to Los Angeles mainly for draft picks.
McQuaid said it was tough to see teammates traded. Lucic had been with the Bruins before McQuaid arrived and Hamilton was his roommate for a couple of years.
Boston started free agency by signing wingers Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes and trading for Zac Rinaldo.
“Even though there’s been some changes made . . . I think we’re still a group that is capable of doing good things and is going to be competitive. I wanted to make sure I was in that type of environment,” McQuaid said.
“It’s a short career and a short window of opportunity. I’ve been fortunate enough to win before and I want to do it again.”
McQuaid has a few charitable appearances this summer and is training to be ready for training camp.