Jackets Win AND Opponent Scores, Leclaire Leads NHL

It was a "CBJ Saturday Night" in Nationwide Arena when the Jackets hosted and defeated the San Jose Sharks. In a 2-1 game, the Jackets secured a third straight win and an 8th place spot in the league standings.

Notably, Leclaire was the winning goaltender despite giving up a first period goal to Joe Thornton. It's the first time this season that the Jackets have given up a goal and still pulled out the win.

Columbus goals came from Fritsche and Fedorov, the latter being a slapshot from the point that lasered into the back of the net.

Pascal Leclaire is now leading the league with a 1.29 GAA, and has the #2 spot in save percentage with a .949.

Shelley Watch:
#45 had just 2 1/2 minutes of ice time and didn't fight, despite San Jose's best efforts.

Jody Shelley gets 3 minutes: A sign of the end?

Just over a year ago, I wrote a post about how Shelley's days were numbered. The topic has come up more than once, and I think the numbers are finally starting to reflect this truth. A quick check at NHL.com confirms that Shelley has taken the ice just once yet this season for a total of just two minutes, fifty seconds.

Shelley is still on the Jackets' roster, but is it merely a formality? His spot as a healthy scratch is becoming routine. How much longer will he remain in Columbus? At some point, his spot on the bench would be better suited for a prospect.

Shelley first seemed doomed when Tollefsen has solidified his place on the Jackets squad, but matter have only gotten worse this season with youngster Jared Boll. Boll is a scrappy winger who can score in addition to throw punches. Shelley's space on the roster is collapsing around him. How much longer will it last?

(Tyler's) Jacket Times Pick for Blue Jackets MVP

It's time for me to make a selection for this year's MVP. Selecting one player who is "most valuable" to the Blue Jackets is tough. After all, what does 'most valuable' even mean? Some would argue for the guy who scored the most points, others may vote for the hardest working player. But alas, I have made a few decisions for who I think deserves the top (and bottom) honors. Without further ado:

Least Valuable Player- Brian Berard is a solid choice for this (dis)honor. He spent the first half of the season injured and the second half on the bench or scratched. All that cost the Jackets $2.5 million, which makes it Doug's fault too. It's worth noting however, that in the 11 games he did play, Berard put up 3 assists. That puts him ahead of another LVP candidate, Jody "Two points" Shelley.

Most Improved Player- Dan Fritsche was outstanding. Despite having his season tragically cut (sorry) short, he put up more than double his point total from the previous season. This Parma native is turning into a clutch player for the Jackets. I'm happy to keep him in town and on the 'energy' line.

Most Valuable Player- A few other fans and the CBJ website itself posted a poll naming Fredrik Norrena as the MVP. I don't completely agree with that. Sure, Norrena played hard and managed an above .500 record, but he was often streaky, and was generally not a dominant force in why the Jackets were able to win a few. That said, I'm going to go with what some may say is a controversial pick and give the MVP to David Vyborny.

I've always thought that Vyborny is one of the most underrated, under appreciated players on the team. He's always in the corners coming up with a crafty play to either stimulate a scoring chance or stall on the penalty kill. And if you want numbers to support this award, look no further. Vyborny led the team in points (64), assists (48), and was second in plus/minus (+6). He was the only frequent starter to appear in the top 20 in the plus/minus category as well... a testament to the Jackets' struggles.

Vyborny is so often overlooked. He's quiet, doesn't fight, seldom talks to interviewers, and doesn't score a ton of goals. He simply goes out on the ice, does his thing, then waits on the bench for his next shift. #9 will continue to be a key player for this team as long as the front office can keep him around. There's been talk about Vyborny returning to the Czech Republic to raise his family, but I hope he sticks around Columbus as long as possible.

If you have an alternate selection for these honors, say so in the comments. I also invite my co-writers to post their selections.

CBJ 06-07 Stats on NHL.com

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

Roster News - Nov. 7

Jackets GM Doug MacLean and Coach Gerard Gallant have made a few small roster moves.

-Shelley was scratched for Saturday's loss to Detroit, though Gallant says that it is only a temporary move.

-Duvie Westcott has elected to have surgery now to repair is broken finger. His spot on the blue line will be filled by Aaron Johnson, though his special teams time will likely go to Anders Erikson. Westcott will be on IR for 6-8 weeks, which is to the serious detriment of the Columbus offense. The defenseman is tied with Rick Nash for 2nd in team scoring.

-Brian Berard is still out of commission following back surgery. The defenseman will likely return to the ice in late January.

MacLean has stated that he is looking to make a trade for another defenseman to alleviate the injury situation. Unfortunately, the trade market is too slow to get any good options. Hopefully it will heat up in coming weeks.

While the jackets injury situation will weaken an already struggling team, I can't help but feel sorry for the Blackhawks. Khabibulin, Lalime, and Havlat are all out for injuries, and Handzus will be gone for the rest of the regular season, minimum.


Other significant injuries from around the league:
Phoenix: Comrie, Reinprecht, and Ricci all out indefinitely
Buffalo: Afinogenov out indefinitely
Carolina: Kaberle, Letowski, Stillman
Florida: Bertuzzi, Nieuwendyk

Jody Shelley: The Enforcer ...but for how long?

Brian's post about Monday's game vs the Coyotes brought up an interesting topic: Jody Shelley. Good ole #45 has been with the Blue Jackets organization from the very beginning. As early as the inaugural 2000-2001 season, Shelley played 69 games for the Syracuse crunch and once for the Jackets. Since then he has been a staple on the Columbus roster, playing 50-80 games per season.

Jody Shelley is a role player, his title: the enforcer. Shelley is known for one thing and for one thing only- to establish a physical presence on the ice and defend his team from the roughest players on opposing teams. When an opponent tries to rough up one of Columbus' younger or more defenseless players, Shelley is the man who steps out on the ice like a bodyguard. A few checks into the boards usually fixes the problem, though a few more deliberate punches to the face are also in the repertoire.

It is well known that the NHL is attempting to "crack down" on fights by enforcing stricter penalties for instigators, and at the very least making quicker efforts to stop the punches before they're thrown. Without getting into the merits of on-ice fights in the NHL (we can do that another time), the crackdown on this scenario takes away the need for a physical player like Shelley.

As Brian said, Shelley's days are numbered. Beyond fighting, Shelley is not an incredibly useful player on the ice. In 280 NHL games, Shelley has amounted to only 27 points- 10 goals, 17 assists. In the same amount of time he racked up 856 penalty minutes. Granted, that number is slightly skewed by the fact that a fighting penalty is a 5 minute major and cedes no power play, but it still amounts to over 14 hours in the box. But how many of those minutes are forcing the Jackets into a penalty kill situation? The one stat that I don't have available is how many minutes he actually spends on ice. I think the penalty box to ice time ratio would be ridiculous. What I do know is that he averages over 3 minutes in the box per game and in the first three games of this season has not found himself there yet.

Outside of games, Shelley has a different role with the team. As one of only a handful of Jacket players who have a strong grip on the English language and a likeable public personality, he has spent more time than any other player doing promotions and advertising. Local car dealerships utilize many commercials with his likeness projecting toughness. The mobile Blue Jackets promo team also frequently have him making public appearances (formerly in tandem with Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre). Video highlights and ads inside Nationwide Arena often include him advising the safety habits of fans and demonstrating the strength and physical play of Blue Jackets hockey. In essence, he has become the quintessential face of the Blue Jackets. It's hard to imagine Columbus hockey without him. As this site would reflect, he's certainly a fan favorite.

The reason for which I have the most respect for Shelley is not his physical play, not his defense of his team, and certainly not his advertising spots. I admire Shelley for his tremendous work ethic and never-give-up attitude. Having attended a Blue Jackets practice, I can attest that #45 was the first one on the ice and the last one off. To be frank, the guy works his ass off to be the best player he can be. You can't blame a guy with that much effort. To his dismay, his hard work on his slapshot and stick handling hasn't yielded him any more than 10 points in a season, even while taking the ice in 80 games. However, I must imagine that this attitude and commitment to the team carries over inside the locker room. It's near impossible for any outsider to speculate what impact he may have on the other players.

I have nothing but the biggest dreams for the Jackets, and as such I wonder what role Jody Shelley will have on a playoff contending team. Is his slot on the roster and his salary best spent on an enforcer that can no longer legally enforce? Should he be sent back to Syracuse so that a younger player with stronger potential can take his seat on the bench? These questions will be answered in due time. In my opinion, Shelley needs to evolve. He either must find a more legitimate and effective way to fill the enforcer role, or develop his skills to better deserve his seat on the bench.

And now without further ado, a video of Jody Shelley's "Greatest Hits":