Analytics Profile: Adam McQuaid

This is the sixth of sixteen player profiles. If you missed the introduction, you can find that here. Special thank you to Corsica, Evolving Wild, Micah Black McCurdy, for the data and visualizations

Shot Creation : D+

3 year WAR/82 : -0.12

3 year RAMP Z-Score : -0.65

There are not many good things to say about McQuaid’s offensive abilities. He is known as a defensive defenseman, and seems to lack the necessary skills to move the puck effectively up ice. And that hurts his ability to create shots for his team.

McQuaid is far below average in both the wins above replacement and regularized adjusted plus minus models in this aspect. His teammates have taken 1.51 more shot attempts per hour without him at 5v5 over the last three seasons. This isn’t all that bad, but when adjusting for context, it appears to be much worse, and probably closer to most people’s eye test.

Shot Suppression : C-

3 year WAR/82 : -0.04

3 year RAMP Z-Score : -0.25

McQuaid is slightly better at preventing shots than creating them, but is still well below average in this aspect. His reputation as a defensive defenseman is probably due to the fact he spends more time in the defensive zone than his teammates, which leads to a higher rate of shots against.

McQuaid’s teammates give up 1.58 less shot attempts per hour without him at 5v5 over the last three seasons. Similar to his shot creation, this doesn’t sound that bad, but the models adjust for context.

Offensive Shot Quality : D

3 year WAR/82 : -0.17

McQuaid also doesn’t do much to improve the quality of his team’s shots going in. A defenseman needs to be mobile in the offensive zone in order to do this, and McQuaid just doesn’t do that.

The Bruins’ expected unblocked shooting percentage dropped 0.17% when McQuaid was on the ice over the last three seasons. This isn’t as bad as the results, as the Bruins unblocked shooting percentage actually fell 0.72% when McQuaid was on the ice.

Defensive Shot Quality : C-

3 year WAR/82 : -0.07

Similar to shot suppression, he’s slightly better defensively when it comes to shot quality, but is still well below average. This may be the biggest shock to many. McQuaid is a big, tough guy who can clear the front of the net, and should be able to prevent rebounds.

But that’s just not the case. Bruins goaltenders are expected to see their unblocked save percentage drop 0.16% when McQuaid is on the ice. Luckily for McQuaid, his goaltenders have found a way to perform well while he is on the ice, or else his goals against would be atrocious.

Author’s Comments

It’s always been hard for me to write negative things about players. The best part about statistics, is that they don’t shield you from the truth. Most Bruins fans seemed to frown on McQuaid’s offensive play, but many found him to still be good defensively, and that’s just not the case.

In my opinion, the fourth round pick in return for McQuaid was fair. For the rebuilding Rangers, he will add a lot of intangibles, and hopefully help develop some of their young players (from the Rangers point of view). McQuaid was a class act in Boston, and will surely be missed.