The defenseman put on the union blue sweater at Nationwide Arena for the first time Tuesday night vs. Pittsburgh, and his father, Mark, had a fun way of reminding him of the past Monday after the trade. He found one of the old Blue Jackets jerseys the family still had, took a picture of him wearing it, and send it to Adam.
"It's neat we still have that stuff. It just kind of comes full circle, right?" McQuaid said.
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"That's one of the things that's really neat about it. I was able to go to a couple of camps as a prospect. In a way, you get drafted by a team, that's the team you hope to play for. And when that didn't come together, this is the second chance. It'll be cool to take a trip down memory lane in some ways."
Since he left the organization, McQuaid has gone on to a decorated career. He won the Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011 and was a key part of the blue line for the Bruins all the way until a season ago, then was traded to the Rangers in the offseason.
Just don't expect him to fill up the stat sheet with offense. The right-shot defenseman played in 462 games with Boston and added 36 more this year with the Rangers, and in that span he has totaled 13 goals and 53 assists. This year in New York, after missing a chunk of the early season with an injury, the 32-year-old native of Prince Edward Island came to Columbus with two goals and 13 helpers in 17:28 of ice time per game.
He showed off his physical side his game with the Jackets, with a thundering check of Bryan Rust that sent Rust to injured reserve and also left McQuaid shaken up for a spell.
"I'm obviously not too flashy," said McQuaid, who also has 56 career NHL fights. "(I want to) be solid defensively, be physical when the opportunities are there. Those are my strengths and I try to play to my strengths, try to help out the penalty kill. Whatever role I end up finding within the team."
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen said the 6-foot-4 McQuaid will provide a physical presence on the blue line, not to mention add depth in the absence of Ryan Murray.
"I think it gives us another element," Kekalainen said. "Murray is going to be out for a little bit. He's had a great season, and it leaves us with a little bit of a hole. We don't know really how long he's going to miss, but we thought that we needed another defenseman. Adam McQuaid gives us experience and character and compete. He plays with an edge, and that's going to be important down the stretch here."
Head coach John Tortorella said McQuaid has been a diligent student so far, picking the head coach's brain about the best way to fit into the Jackets' system.
"I've watched him from afar -- Boston, New York -- and I've always admired the way he's played," Tortorella said. "You can see it. He's a quiet guy, very unassuming, but all the reports we get about him (say he has) high character, leads by example and he just plays the game the right way. He's definitely a throwback in today's game. I've always respected the way he's gone about his business."
This is the first time McQuaid has been traded midseason, but with his contract up at the end of the season and the Rangers out of the playoff race, he figured a trade was coming.
The fact that his destination is Columbus made the move all the more sweet.
"I really didn't have any idea what that was going to be," he said. "When I found out it was Columbus I was really, really excited. I didn't know where, but I think it's going to be a great opportunity to join a real solid team obviously with the additions, but even before that I always felt like Columbus was such a hard team to play against. Guys compete and it's a well-balanced team. I'm just happy to be able to join that group."
