Boston Bruins fans, it’s time to get to know Paul Postma
For the second time in two games, Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid was injured. Unfortunately for the Bruins, this most recent injury is long term, and he will need to be replaced in the lineup for a couple months.
Boston Bruins’ veteran defenseman Adam McQuaid has had a REALLY bad week. On Sunday in Vegas, he required help to get off the ice after taking a Colin Miller slapshot to the knee. Bruins fans held their collective breaths as to his health status after he missed practice on Tuesday. Fortunately, it must have just been a stinger, because he suited up for practice on Wednesday, and played last night against Vancouver.
That’s where the good luck ends. McQuaid once again left the ice injured in the team’s 6-3 victory over the Canucks last night. The tough-as-nails rear-guard was diagnosed today with a broken right fibula, an injury that will require surgery. His estimated recovery time is approximately 8 weeks.
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Right as veterans Patrice Bergeron and David Backes were returning to the lineup, the Bruins now lose both center Ryan Spooner for 6-8 weeks (torn groin adducter) and McQuaid for about 8 weeks. Replacing Spooner involves bringing in to the fold another organizational young prospect. Last night, Sean Kuraly filled the 3rd line center role, and hopefully all of the Bruins youth up front can mature on the fly.
However, when it comes to replacing McQuaid, it appears that one of the two free agent signings the Bruins made this offseason will be called upon. That person is Paul Postma.
Will the real Paul Postma please stand up?
On July 1, 2017, the Bruins signed Postma to a 1 year, $725,000 deal. Postma has not seen any action this season, having been a healthy scratch for all six games. In the pre-season, Postma played in 4 games, and had a goal and an assist, to go along with a -1 rating. Postma is not a flashy player, but overall, he is a defenseman who does his job.
The 28 year-old, Red Deer, Alberta native has played 191 NHL games over 7 seasons with Atlanta/Winnipeg. He has 10 goals and 24 assists in his career. Taking into account that he played on a less-than-stellar Winnipeg squad, has a respectable -3 career plus/minus. Important to note, his career ATOI is only 12:55 per game. He’s clearly never been depended on to be a top pair guy.
Let’s put it this way: he’s certainly no Erik Karlsson in the offensive zone, he’s not going to shut you down like Ryan Suter, and he’s not going to log minutes like Dustin Byfuglien. However, when it comes to temporarily filling in to McQuaid while he recovers, the Bruins could do a lot worse.
I imagine that McQuaid’s injury will also require Boston to call up another blueliner to be the 7th defenseman. This person could possibly compete with Postma for the spot if he struggles. However, it is certainly a luxury for the team to have someone with NHL experience in their back pocket.
It is rumored Rob O’Gara didn’t travel with Providence for their most recent road trip, so perhaps he is the call-up choice for the Bruins. Adding a left shot defenseman would even up the Bruins roster a bit, given the fact that the Bruins blueline is fairly right-shot heavy. That is, of course, if you’re into that sort of thing.