The 34-year-old defenseman scored 73 points (16 goals, 57 assists) in 512 regular-season games with the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. He scored 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 68 Stanley Cup Playoff games and helped the Bruins win the Cup in 2011, when he had four assists in 23 playoff games.
McQuaid last played in the NHL for the Blue Jackets against the Montreal Canadiens on March 28, 2019, when he left the game with a herniated disk in his neck.
"I am beyond fortunate to have been able to play as long as I did and to have the experiences that I did," McQuaid said in an interview with CBC published Saturday. "I don't look back on my situation and think, 'Oh, things got cut short … or poor me,' by any means."
Selected in the second round (No. 55) of the 2005 NHL Draft by the Blue Jackets, McQuaid was traded to the Bruins on May 16, 2007, and played his first nine NHL seasons with Boston. He scored an NHL career-high 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in 67 games in 2010-11, the season he helped the Bruins win their first Stanley Cup championship since 1971-72.
