Adam McQuaid Could Have Larger Role For Bruins After New Contract

BOSTON — The Bruins made a strong commitment to Adam McQuaid in June by re-signing the veteran defenseman to a four-year contract worth $2.75 million per season.

With his financial security in place, McQuaid must repay that faith by being a steady presence on a blue line that will have less experience than perhaps at any point in Claude Julien’s nine-year tenure as head coach.

“They’re putting some faith in me with the term. I say it every year, I hope to play a full season,” McQuaid said after Friday’s training camp practice at TD Garden.

“I’m also not going to change the way I play. I don’t think I can do that. I think that’s part of why I was brought back, to play my game, add elements to it and improve. Hopefully I can prove my worth.”

McQuaid’s game is built on toughness, fighting for pucks anywhere on the ice, blocking shots, killing penalties and standing up for his teammates by dropping his gloves to fight when necessary. He’s a traditional stay-at-home defenseman.

However, with the Bruins making some small adjustments to their game this season that aim to improve breakouts and use a little more speed in the transition game, McQuaid will have to adapt slightly from the way he normally plays.

“It’ll be a bit of an adjustment. We’ve played a certain way for a while here. You kind of get used to that,” McQuaid said.

“Guys are excited about the new challenge of trying to change things up a little bit here. We worked quite a bit on it today and I’m sure we’ll keep working on it. It’ll be something, at first, we might have to think about, but then it will become second nature here pretty quick.”

In addition to making these adjustments, McQuaid could see an increase in his ice time with Dougie Hamilton gone and the Bruins not wanting Zdeno Chara to play too many minutes.

McQuaid never has averaged more than 16 5-on-5 minutes per game since making his NHL debut during the 2009-10 campaign. That could change this season, especially if the young defensemen in camp don’t impress and Dennis Seideberg’s upper body injury doesn’t improve.

If McQuaid does play more minutes, he must play better than he did last season. He tallied just seven points and the Bruins controlled less than 50 percent of even-strength shot attempts with him on the ice. McQuaid also had a minus-16 scoring chance differential during 5-on-5 play.

With a new contract comes higher expectations for McQuaid. He’ll need to meet them if the Bruins are going to have a playoff-caliber blue line.

Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images