Shelley has been much more than just a fighter.


When Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren signed 34-year-old enforcer Jody Shelley to a three-year, $3.3 million contract, there was an outbreak by the fans about paying a fighter $1.1 million per season.

Shelley, who scored only two goals in 57 games with the San Jose Sharks and New York Rangers last year, was added to the orange and black’s roster to drop his gloves and bring a sheriff to the lineup lacking a true authoritarian.

For the last couple of years, the Flyers had been utilizing Riley Cote as the enforcer. While Cote played the role well, getting in 65 fights in four seasons with the Flyers, but was not a good hockey player.

Cote was a terrible skater with little to none hockey skills. He played no more than four minutes a game in his stint with Philadelphia.

In 156 games in the NHL, Cote scored only one goal and had seven career points. To be frank, some goalies have more career points than Cote. For example, former Flyers goalie Martin Biron has four more points than Cote.

Playing in only 15 games last year, it was quite clear that the Flyers had no plans going forward with Cote as a player, and Cote decided to hang up the skates to join the Adirondack Phantoms in a coaching position.

However, despite Cote retiring, paying Shelley $1.1 million to serve as the team’s enforcer didn’t go over well in Flyerdom. In today’s age of hockey, a need for a fighter is not needed as much as it was five, six years ago.

With the game wanting more offense, the NHL has made several rule changes over the years to protect players and change the image that hockey is fighting on skates. By doing so, fighters have become a thing of the past. Not every team has an enforcer on their roster, but they still do serve a purpose.

Fighting is still a major aspect of the game, and despite the attempts by the critics, it will not be removed from the game. It’s how the players police the game, and if you take it out, more serious consequences could occur.

In spite of having Dan Carcillo on the roster, Holmgren came to the conclusion that the Flyers needed someone who could intimidate opponents. Shelley was his target.

A nine year vet, Shelley was acquired by the Rangers for a 2011 sixth round draft pick in February of 2010. Prior to being traded to New York, Shelley had no points in 36 games with the Sharks, however he recorded six points (two goals, four assists) in 21 games with the Blue Shirts.

Before going to San Jose, Shelley spent six-plus years playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets where he compiled 1025 penalty minutes.

While he hasn’t won over the fan base yet, Shelley is proving to be a good signing by Holmgren. The price tag may be a rad rich for everyone’s liking, but he’s playing the role of “enforcer” as good as anyone in the league.

Shelley, who has seven fights in 38 games with the Flyers, knows when to drop the gloves and when not to. That’s huge for a team because sometimes, it’s best not to fight. For instance, with a three goal lead against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Not only does Shelley know how and when to fight, he also is a hard working player. He doesn’t skate around looking for fights, but rather plays his position rather well and delivers hits when they’re available.

On a line with Blair Betts and Darroll Powe or Carcillo, Shelley averages around six minutes a game. Playing on the fourth line, Shelley has the trust of head coach Peter Laviolette, something that Cote never was able to gain.

His hard work pays off every once in awhile as it did against Atlanta a couple games ago. After blocking a shot in the defensive zone, Shelley skated up the sideboards all alone before sniping Thrashers’ goalie Ondrej Pavelec.

The Flyers are paying him to win fights, not score goals, but whenever he lights the lamp, it’s a welcomed addition.

Just like Shelley has been to the Flyers.
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Langenbrunner could be a valuable piece for Philly.


It has been a season to forget for the New Jersey Devils as they sit in last place in all of hockey with only 22 points and 10 wins—as horrendous as the Phantoms have been this year, Adirondack still has more wins than the Devils in less games.

Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello appears to have reached the point where he’s decided it’s time to shake things up a bit. According to Rich Chere of the Star Ledger, Lamoriello has asked his captain Jamie Langenbrunner, who was a healthy scratch on Thursday against Philadelphia, to waive his no-trade clause.

The Flyers are one of “several teams” to have interest in the 35-year-old right wing, and are offering New Jersey two draft picks—a third and fifth rounder as reported by the Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi.

Langenbrunner carries with him a $2.8 million cap hit, and will become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2010-11 season. If you’re wondering if the orange and black have enough room to bring him into the fold, the answer is yes.

The Flyers have $3.6 million in acquisition space available; they only have $413,000 in cap space, however they’re permitted to to add a full season cap hit to the current roster because long-term injured reserve is factored into the total (per Capgeek.com).

Langenbrunner, who has been the New Jersey’s captain for the last three-plus years, isn’t having the best of seasons, but then again who is for the Devils? In 31 games, the Minnesotan has four goals and 10 assists for 14 points and is a brutal minus-15 this year.

It’s believed that he wants to stay on the East Coast.

Why are the Flyers interested in Langenbrunner?

Pretty simple: playoff experience, depth and one heck of a resume.

Langenbrunner has 232 goals and 388 assists in 996 games in his 15-year NHL career. He has four 20-goal seasons under his belt, and has won two Stanley Cups—one with Dallas in 1999 and New Jersey in 2003. In terms of playoff experience, Langenbrunner has played in 137 postseason games and has 86 points.

The Flyers, who were a Michael Leighton five-hole save away from possibly extending the Stanley Cup Finals to a Game 7 in Chicago, could always use another veteran leader to use in the playoffs. Remember the role Billy Guerin was going to fill when he signed a tryout deal with the team during the preseason? Langenbrunner would fill those shoes.

On paper, depth up front is not a necessity for Philly as they’re already very deep up front. With three solid lines in place already, adding Langenbrunner would only create a bigger logjam for coach Peter Laviolette. Considering Dan Carcillo, Jody Shelley and Nikolay Zherdev are already rotating press box duties, two of the three would become healthy scratches for each game.

That is unless Flyers GM Paul Holmgren decides to waive or trade one of Carcillo, Shelley or Zherdev.

Should the Flyers acquire Langenbrunner, he would be a huge upgrade at right wing. He brings another scoring option despite a miserable season thus far, and a winger who can play Laviolette’s system. He can play in all aspects of the game, and back checks very well.

Imagine a line consisting of Andreas Nodl, Mike Richards and Langenbrunner. Talk about one heck of a shutdown line with some scoring touch to boot.

If Holmgren can pull off this deal, it will go down as another positive mark on his resume as general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers.
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Scott Hartnell celebrates his goal 10th of the year.


Coming into Sunday evening’s affair with the Red Wings, the Philadelphia Flyers hadn’t won a game in Detroit since 1988—two years before I was born. A 16-game losing (0-14-2) streak at the Joe Louis Arena was intact.

That changed.

Second period goals by James van Riemsdyk, Dan Carcillo and Scott Hartnell propelled the Flyers to a 3-2 victory to jump atop the Eastern Conference standings with 53 points.

Philly is tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Red Wings for the most points in the league; however, since the Flyers have played one less game than the Pens, they’re above them in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference standings.

Brian Boucher got the start in net for the orange and black, trying to get the team back to their winning ways after dropping two of their first three games on a five game road trip. Boucher earned the game’s first star with a 25-save performance, getting his eighth win of the season.

The game was scoreless in the second period until the red-hot van Riemsdyk put the Flyers up 1-0 just 51 seconds into the period. Shooting at a bad angle, JVR fired a shot that went off two Red Wing players and past goalie Jimmy Howard.

van Riemsdyk has nine goals in his last 18 contests after not scoring a goal in his first 17 games.

About five minutes later, Carcillo finished off a great shift by deflecting an Andrej Meszaros bomb from the point past Howard to give the Flyers a two-goal lead. Carcillo just missed scoring seconds before Meszaros took the slapper. It was his second of the year.

Meszaros finished the game with a +1 rating in 22 minutes of ice time. He leads the NHL in +/- with 25.

With a little over five minutes left in the period, Hartnell potted his 10th of the year after gathering a rebound, and roofing it past the struggling Howard. The play was created by a great keep in from 39-year-old defenseman Sean O’Donnell.

For the Flyers, the second period against the Wings was the team’s best effort all season in one 20 minute period. Detroit’s a puck-possession team, and the Fly guys did a wonderful job breaking up passes, and keeping the puck themselves. Philadelphia out shot the Wings 19-11 after two, and had a 3-0 lead heading into the third.

Detroit’s coach Mike Babcock decided he had enough of Howard, who allowed three goals on 27 shots. Chris Osgood replaced Howard to start the third period, and held the Flyers scoreless. Osgood had five saves.

In the first minute of the third period, Valtteri Filppula scored a dandy of a goal to get Detroit within two goals when he undressed Meszaros and sniped Boucher for his 10th of the year.

With 8:22 left in regulation, Henrik Zetterberg got his Wings within one goal when he backhanded home a rebound on a power play with former teammate Ville Leino in the sin bin for a very questionable goaltender interference call.

A couple minutes prior to Zetterberg’s tally, Boucher had the play of the game when he performed some left-handed larceny on Swedish winger Johan Franzen from the slot with a phenomenal glove stop. It happened with 12:43 left in the game and a 3-1 Flyers lead.

The Flyers will finish off their road trip in New Jersey on Thursday night as they play the away portion of a home-and-home with the Devils.

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Zherdev could be on his way out of Philadelphia.


For the first time since he suffered a sprained knee against Ottawa last month, Dan Carcillo returned to the lineup in the Flyers 2-1 overtime win in Boston Saturday night.

To clear the way for Carcillo’s return, coach Peter Laviolette made Nikolay Zherdev a healthy scratch for the third time this season.

Zherdev was signed by the orange and black during the offseason for $2 million for one year.

Through 31 games, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren’s flier isn’t working out as originally planned.

In 28 games, Zherdev has nine goals and one assists with a +2 rating and 10 penalty minutes.

When bringing the 26-year-old to Philly, Holmgren knew what he was getting; pure offensive talent with major flaws in his all around game and attitude.

His thinking was that a year in Russia would remind Zherdev how much of a decrease in competition and lifestyle playing in the KHL is compared to playing in North America.

While it’s still early enough to made a noticeable impact, Zherdev has displayed all the negatives that led to him playing in Russia last year.

The book on the former first rounder was that he floats in the defensive and offensive zone, takes shifts off and is lazy.

Nothing he has done thus far suggest he’s a better player.

Blessed with natural talent, Zherdev thinks he doesn’t have to skate in the offensive or defensive zones, only in the neutral zone.

His style of play and Laviolette’s system is like fitting a square peg in a round hole.

With an inconsistent work ethic on the ice, Zherdev starts out each game on the fourth line with Blair Betts and Jody Shelley. Lavy’s plan is to make the Russian earn his playing time. In most games, Zhe usually makes it up to the third line with Jeff Carter and Claude Giroux.

Laviolette has shown in his year-plus tenure that no player is given ice time based on pure ability. Look at Ville Leino, who couldn’t crack the lineup until an late season injury allowed him to play in the playoffs.

Leino is now a second line winger on Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell’s line.

Earlier this year, Laviolette sat Homer’s second overall pick in 2006 James van Riemsdyk because he couldn’t light the lamp if the puck was on his tape with an open net.

Since JVR cracked his way back into the lineup, he has been a different player. More like the kid who showed up in the preseason than the player who wouldn’t use his size to his advantage.

van Riemsdyk has five goals since returning to the lineup.

The Flyers said that they expected a physical contest against the Bruins, hence the decision to insert Carcillo for Zherdev.

From this point forward, no one knows when Laviolette plans to put him back in the lineup, if at all.

Taking into account the looming roster decisions Holmgren has to make when Michael Leighton returns from back surgery, it’s not a stretch to wonder if Zherdev will be a cap casualty.

The Flyers have the scoring depth to be able to survive without Zherdev’s nine goals. Four players already have double digit tallies with Briere leading the way with 16.

In order to activate Leighton from the lone term injured reserve, the Flyers will have to clear $1.555 million.

Then, if they go with Leighton as the backup to rookie Sergei Bobrovsky, Holmgren will have to make two moves.

For example, waive or trade Brian Boucher and Matt Walker, Carcillo or Zherdev.

As it looks today, Boosh isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.

Rather than losing defensive depth in waiving Walker, shopping Nik Zherdev for a draft pick would be wise.

It’s never too early to admit a mistake. If Zherdev isn’t playing the system, wouldn’t it make sense to trade him rather than paying him $2 million to sit in the press box?
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Dan Carcillo is the true-life non-golf Happy Gilmore.


Paul Holmgren announced today that the Philadelphia Flyers have resigned forward/enforcer Dan Carcillo to a one-year contract worth a modest $1.075 million.

"We are happy to have Dan under contract for the 2010-11 season," Holmgren said of Carcillo in a statement released Tuesday. Sure, he might not have put a lot of thought into it and it's not exactly the most excited way to announce the signing, but there you go.

Carcillo's signing, however, puts the team about $2.5 million over the salary cap. Holmgren has until October 7th to trim the roster, and he'll likely to that by trading Simon Gagne.

Any Flyers fan knows that Carcillo is on this roster for one reason, and one reason only: he likes to hit people, legally or otherwise, and they don't miss a whole lot when he's in the penalty box.

Which is a good thing because Carcillo spent more time in the box than anyone else on the Flyers roster last season -- 207 minutes. And if he saw the ice more often, it's likely he would have been tops in the entire league.

Dan and his 'stache only contributed 12 goals and 10 assists last season, but he's cheap and certainly serves a purpose, so it comes out looking like a good under-the-radar move.

Now all they have to do is team him not to hit the guys wearing the same color jersey as him.
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