City Stunned: Shelley Scores First Goal of Season

In a story that went right under The Jacket Times' radar, Jody Shelley scored his first goal of the season last weekend against Nashville. This raises his point total for the 58 games he has played in this season to 1.

Hitch and others quickly deemed his point to be an 'ugly goal', saying that he just happened to be in the right spot in front of the net as several players hacked at the puck. He was just lucky for it to have hit his stick last. Shelley was proud, however, and I can't blame him. Every goal is important, be it your first or 500th.

Granted, good ole 45 isn't on the CBJ roster for the purpose of scoring points. If he was, that would be about the most expensive goal I've seen in some time. Shelley's 06-07 salary is a whopping $600,000, which is a tad high for an enforcer who can't enforce, and who isn't leading the team in penalty minutes. (Are we sensing a theme here, MacLean?)

Oh Shelley, we've spoken of this before... It pains me to write negatively of you, for you sir have a heart of a champion. Players without that asset can never attain it. No amount of skill, no number of goals, and no Stanley Cup can grant that to a player. You also possess a public image and likability that has not been able to be replicated, and seldom challenged since Tyler Wright. But this is a team that needs goals and needs wins. If the Jackets were a successful franchise, I would have no room to knock your spot on the roster. But that is not the state of the Blue Jackets, and you need to produce or get out of the way! I'm not placing unrealistic expectations that you're going to put up Sidney Crosby numbers or anything, but what would it take to get to a 10-15 point season? You managed 10 last year, and that was without Hitch's aggressive focus-on-fundamentals and physical style. You need to adapt Shelley! Adapt or get out of the way for young guy to get more regular NHL ice time!

Photo from NHL.com