UPDATE 11 AM EST

Jody Shelley has been suspended two games by the NHL.


**************

Jody Shelley will learn today how long he'll be suspended for hitting Boston's Adam McQuaid from behind on an icing in Saturday's 2-1 overtime win. Once the league informs a player that it has set up a conference with him after an on-ice incident, it has already decided to suspend him. The player can give his side of the story during the conversation but it will have zero bearing on the ruling. That's just the reality. If there's no suspension, the league simply says no further discipline will be forthcoming.

In order to avoid any further suspicion of bias, NHL senior VP of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell will not be handling Shelley's case because his son, Greg, plays for the Bruins. Instead, deputy director Mike Murphy will handle the case.

Now is as good a time as any to discuss my thoughts on Shelley's performance so far this season with the club. On the balance, I do not think he's justified the money or multi-year contract the team has committed to him. Apart from his fighting role, he'd have to create a lot of energy for the team, force opposing turnovers and avoid penalties that leave the Flyers shorthanded.

Shelley has been OK defensively and reasonably effective on the boards but not as effective as Arron Asham was last year -- and not capable of handling the number of minutes that Asham did last season. Several times this season, Shelley has taken the kinds of penalties that get players scratched, although he has yet to see the healthy scratch list this season. As a fighter, I had hoped to see better from Shelley. He doesn't have to be the second coming of Dave Brown, but a few more wins (or at least well-timed fights that give the team a spark of emotion) would be welcomed.

When you judge him by the expectations of his role on the ice, I think Shelley has earned a "C" grade for his play so far for the Flyers. He hasn't been a big detriment in most games (although he was in Boston), but he hasn't been much of an asset, either. In my opinion, he'll need to do better to avoid the scratch sheet come playoff time. I do not think he should be immune to the scratch sheet now, either, any more than Dan Carcillo, Nikolay Zherdev or James van Riemsdyk.

Here's the thing. I have no doubt that Shelley is giving his all on the ice every shift and I know he's a hard worker at practice. Peter Laviolette knows what he's getting every day, and that helps keep a player in the lineup above more talented players who may not be as self-motivated. But Shelley still needs to have a little more positive impact for the Flyers, in my opinion.


I will try to post an updated blog later today.

Join the Discussion: » Comments » Post New Comment

» Lightning Strike Takes Down Jets

» Practice Day, Ersson, Jay Greenberg, A Personal Note

» Flyers Gameday: Game 12 vs. BOS

» Wrap: Brink Lifts Flyers over Blues, 2-1

» Game 11 Preview: Flyers vs. STL