Philadelphia Flyers Will Regret Signing Jody Shelley

In 1969, Flyers owner Ed Snider saw his team physically dominated by the St. Louis Blues. It was the second year in a row that the Blues abused and eliminated the Flyers. Ed Snider vowed that his team would never be pushed around again.

Snider's logic flowed down through the Flyers organization for years. The Broad Street Bullies won two consecutive Stanley Cups and intimidated the NHL for years.

As the years passed the Flyers always had a fearsome fighter on the ice, Dave Brown, Paul Holmgren, Craig Berube, Rick Tocchet, Sandy McCarthy, and Donald Brashear, to name a few.

The Flyers skill players could also throw 'em when called upon, most notably Eric Lindros and current captain Mike Richards.

Snider's recent GM's are cut from the same cloth as Snider himself, unapologetically tough and blindly focused on winning. Ed Snider and his most recent GM's, Bob Clarke and (current GM) Paul Holmgren are revered in Philadelphia for their toughness. 

Sadly, the game may be passing the Flyers brass by in this regard. Team toughness should always be one of the top prerequisites for the Flyers organization. This is one aspect of the team that almost all of their fans truly appreciate. However, these days, toughness alone cannot trump combined talent and toughness.

The signing of Jody Shelley to a three-year, $3.3 million contract is a move that sees the Flyers taking a step back to the NHL stone age.

It's a forgone conclusion that Shelley will not play all 82 games and in the games he does play he will see limited ice time. Jody Shelley is a one dimensional player with one talent, beating people up.  

I know this gets the fans out of their seats and pumps up his teammates, but rarely does it win games and never does it win a Stanley Cup. 

The Flyers need players on all four lines that can play decent minutes and contribute goals as well as playing tough. The recently departed Arron Asham was a good example of that type of player. Daniel Carcillo has potential to be that player and Ian Lapperriere is the epitome of that type of player.  Jody Shelley is not that player.

Daniel Carcillo has averaged 12 minutes of playing time per game in the NHL. Ian Lapperriere has averaged about 13:50 over 16 seasons in the NHL. Arron Asham's average time on the ice is 10:23 over his career. Jody Shelley's average time on the ice during his nine year NHL career is 6:10. How is that amount of time on the ice worth $1.1 million a season?

Carcillo, Lapperriere and Asham could also score goals and spent time on the ice during the playoffs for the Flyers as well as their other NHL teams. Jody Shelley has contributed a total of 16 goals in his entire NHL career. His playoff points; 0 in 7 NHL playoff games. Those numbers don't translate to a player that will give you anything during a Cup run.

The Flyers need players that can play 82 regular season games and every playoff game while contributing something other than five-minute major penalties. The signing of Jody Shelley is a $3.3 million error on Paul Holmgren's part. 

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