Former Bruins Quaider officially retires

[Ladyfan]

 

[LouJersey]

Second toughest Christian after Jesus himself.

One of my all time faves, and there aren't enough thank you's I can type for Lonewolf. Definition of Bruin,

Great story here

How Faith Has Guided Bruins Through Tough Times | CLNS Media

 

[aguineapig]

Always made a trip to Portland when the P Bruins would come in to play the Pirates. Remember seeing Quaider stretching in warm ups and thinking he looked mean. And when the puck was dropped he was always on the edge but played with controlled mayhem. But you knew he'd go off sooner or later and he did. And he had the look in his eyes, the crazed Cashman look and he clocked the poor son of a gun three or four times before the linesman saved the guy. But he could play and he didn't score much but they always seemed to count when he did. He was a warrior on the ice, a gentle giant off it and they don't make em better than Adam McQuaid. I raise my Cup in celebration to the Lonewolf.

 

[Root]

I love this guy. I remember I couldn’t wait for the Bruins to call him up from Providence because one of the Providence coaches was talking about how he broke a couple of opponents jaws in fights in the AHL (I know that’s grizzly, but that’s how it was back then). On top of that, he was just a solid, steady defensemen.

A great teammate, I just really liked the guy. This is one of, if not my favorite fights of his. Frazer McLaren was one of those guys that the Leafs brought in to combat the Bruins toughness. Unlike the Bruins tough players, McLaren couldn’t really play. McQuaid stood in there with him and got some shots in. He was a warrior. All the best to Adam! One of my Favorites. Good Luck going forward!

 

[SPLBRUIN]

Loved McQuaid as a Bruin, one tough hombre who always had his teammates back. Wish him all the best as he moves on to a new phase of his life.

 

[BruinDust]

He could of played in any era. 70s, 80s, 90s, etc. Tough as nails, all heart. Got the most out of his skillset. Hope he has a happy retirement.

Now just 7 players left in the league from the guys who dressed from the 2011 cup team:

Krejci
Lucic
Marchand
Bergeron
Seguin
Chara
Rask

 

[Ladyfan]

He could of played in any era. 70s, 80s, 90s, etc. Tough as nails, all heart. Got the most out of his skillset. Hope he has a happy retirement.

Now just 7 players left in the league from the guys who dressed from the 2011 cup team:

Krejci
Lucic
Marchand
Bergeron
Seguin
Chara
Rask

Looking back what a team that was. The chemistry was unreal.

From where we sit at the games you could always see how much Adam McQuaid was liked and respected by his team mates and the folks who work for the B's. The STH near me all loved him. I hated when he was traded.

 

[Kegs]

Shawn Thornton posted a picture of him punching McQuaid in the face to welcome him into retirement

 

[Baddkarma]

One of my favorites from the last 10 years and ever honestly. Played his game which is admired by all Bruins fans. What a great career! Cheers Quaider!!!!!!!

 

[Bruinaura]

Shawn Thornton posted a picture of him punching McQuaid in the face to welcome him into retirement

I'm still sad that Thornton stayed with the Panthers when he retired. Good for him I guess, but surely there's something he could have done with the Bruins. I always loved his sense of humor.

 

[DiggityDog]

Quaider was my first ever interview when I was a freelance writer in college. He was so soft spoken and shy despite the presence he was on the ice. He was very generous with his time.

He did everything he was asked and he was a hell of a warrior. A truly great Bruin, I hope he has a long and happy retirement.

 

[The Un4casted Storm]

One of my favourite Bruins ever! Hope he ends up back with the Bruins organization in some capacity in the future.

 

[eightspokedb]

....and he paddle boarded with HRH the Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge....

 

[Number8]

The. Man.

Thanks Quaider. For everything. Like most I have a group of players over time that consist of my favorites. Quaider easily made that list.

 

[Gee Wally]

Former Bruin Adam McQuaid looks back on his career - The Boston Globe

The pain in his neck and the potential risk it imposed ultimately became too much for Adam McQuaid, leading the former Bruins defenseman to retire last weekend after 10 NHL seasons, all but the last one spent wearing Black and Gold.
“Basically, I was told it wasn’t safe for me to play the way it was,” said McQuaid, talking by telephone from his home within walking distance of the Garden this past week. “So, not worthwhile, not a risk I was willing to take.”


McQuaid was only 24 and a relative newcomer to the lineup when the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011, the 6-foot-4-inch righthander chipping in with four assists over 23 games of that memorable playoff run.
“Hard to top that one,” said McQuaid, musing briefly over what he’ll take away as career highlights beyond the Cup title.

“Beyond all that, those Stanley Cup runs, even in 2013 when we came up short, just the excitement, the energy, I can remember being in the dressing at the Garden and hearing almost like, you feel the place shaking a little bit,” said McQuaid. “I have a hard time, really, putting all of it into words. It’s almost overwhelming, all the special things I got to do. Because of hockey, I got to do a lot of things, meet a lot of people — so many great friendships from the game. The travel. The Winter Classics at Gillette, at Fenway, going to Prague and Ireland. When I do think of my career, I think more of the plane rides, the dinners on the road with the guys, getting together with them for dinner at Thanksgiving or Christmas. The laughs, mostly the laughs.”

The nerve pain in McQuaid’s neck — the pain that convinced him roughly a year ago his playing days were done — was too much for him to suit up in a playoff run that ended when the Bruins rubbed out the Blue Jackets that spring in the conference semifinals.

It was during a visit that season at the home of fellow Blue Jacket Nick Foligno, a former teammate from junior days (OHL Sudbury), that underscored McQuaid’s predicament with neck pain.
“He had us over, and I was playing with his kids,” McQuaid recalled, “and I got in the car, and my neck went out. I was like, ‘Oh, man.’ That was a real eye-opener. That’s a scary thing when those thoughts go through your head. I didn’t have any kids at the time, but that was something I’d hoped for, and then you’ve got to think about just quality-of-life stuff, right?”
The good news, beyond the huge relief of being relatively pain-free these days, is that McQuaid and wife Stephanie welcomed son Roman into their family just three weeks ago.
“Other than being a bit sleep-deprived,” said the new dad, “we’re all good, no complaints.”
Where from here, who knows? A devout Christian, one who was as an active team chapel member along with a sizable collection of Bruins in his days in Boston, McQuaid sounds at peace with it all when he says, “I just believe God has a plan for me.”


For McQuaid to make the jump to the NHL, recalled Cassidy, he had to improve his puck-moving game, neutral-zone decisions, work some on the power play. McQuaid absorbed it all and moved up to Boston after 2½ seasons with the WannaBs and never returned to the AHL.
“I was talking to Brandon Carlo about that today,” said Cassidy, following Friday’s practice. “About how Adam built his game up. Listen, no one’s going to mistake him for this puck-moving, offensive guy, but he could make a good first pass, you could rely on him to make plays that were there, see the ice. Some of that stuff we are trying to do with Brandon. They’re not the same player, but similar in their roles: shutdown guy, penalty killing … I really enjoyed Adam McQuaid, one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.”

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Perhaps McQuaid can return to the Bruins or NESN is some capacity. Fan favorite.

 

[Chevalier du Clavier]

The Athletic:
Pain, prayer, peace: Former Bruin Adam McQuaid feels fulfilled upon retirement

... By the end of McQuaid’s career, whether it was in Boston or New York or Columbus, the nightly ask he made of his body did not produce the answers he expected. His physical shortcomings compromised his mental wellness.

“It weighed on me,” McQuaid said. “Going into games, I would get more anxious. I really leaned on my faith at that time. I was just constantly praying and trying to focus on small things. Really taking things one shift at a time, one day at a time. It definitely took its toll, all the different injuries. But toward the end, I would say I was tired. I was tired of it. But through it all, I think I still had a pretty positive outlook on things. I still made sure I reminded myself to be grateful and to be thankful for getting to play and everything that comes with getting to play. That helped me push through a lot of it.”

... The career-ending injury was to his neck. On March 28, 2019, while playing for Columbus, Montreal’s Andrew Shaw sideswiped McQuaid. Headaches and nerve pain became part of life.

“I definitely wasn’t in a good place physically,” McQuaid said. “Then it weighed on me mentally. I wasn’t feeling like myself. I had many injuries throughout my career, unfortunately. That became part of my story. I look at it more as having overcome different injuries, come back, try to play the same way and not have it affect my outlook on playing. But I was probably at a point where I had the most going on. I had so many different things that were really nagging me. I felt like I wanted to give more. But you hear guys say that they’re asking their bodies to do things and just not getting the response they want.”

... The neck injury compromised McQuaid’s condition to the point where he worried about daily life after hockey. He visited multiple doctors. They told him it was not safe for him to play.

On occasion, this left him frustrated with the sport and how it took its toll. But time and treatments allowed McQuaid to heal.

“I’m very happy with how I feel,” McQuaid said. “I kind of went from having few and far between good days. Now it’s few and far between bad days. Thinking back of how I felt and where I’m at, I really am super thankful I feel as good as I do.”

 

[MrKabukiman]

Will miss seeing him play. While in PEI a few years back I met a family friend who said McQuaid and his brothers all played hockey and were good people. I remember the guy saying, "Tough kids; would rather fight than eat." That phrase has stuck with me through the years.

 

[Ladyfan]

Will miss seeing him play. While in PEI a few years back I met a family friend who said McQuaid and his brothers all played hockey and were good people. I remember the guy saying, "Tough kids; would rather fight than eat." That phrase has stuck with me through the years.

Yet Adam was gentle and a sweet man off the ice.

My daughter thought he was VERY handsome.

 

[Bruinaura]

I just wish it was a current Bruins uniform..... Especially today.....

 

[ON3M4N]

I just wish it was a current Bruins uniform..... Especially today.....

I wish those were our uniforms

 

[The Un4casted Storm]

I just wish it was a current Bruins uniform..... Especially today.....

Quaider looks good rocking the Meth Bear jersey - what a beauty!

 

[BruinsJoe]

Hire him instead of Tinordi? A true warrior this Quaider!

 

[Dr Hook]

Hore him instead of Tinordi? A true warrior this Quaider!

Quaider's injuries put him out, he won't be back.

 

[BMC]

Looks like we might get our wish: