Flyers fans may finally get to see what the 2010-2011 Philadelphia Flyers look like without enforcer Jody Shelley come Tuesday, when the Pittsburgh Penguins take to the ice at the Wells Fargo Center.
That’s because a suspension appears to be on the horizon for the 6’-3”, 225 lb. bruiser.
According to TSN, the NHL disciplinary panel will be holding a hearing with Shelley on Monday morning to discuss (using that term very lightly here) his hit on Boston Bruins forward Adam McQuaid on Saturday night. Shelley and McQuaid were racing to touch the puck on what would have been an icing call when Shelley’s skate hit the corner of the net. Falling forward and losing his balance, Shelley shoved McQuaid and both went flying into the boards, though McQuaid received the worst of it.
From TSN, Shelley told reporters after the game, “I don’t intend to go out there and fall on top of a guy on the end boards, especially on an icing like that… It was a quick play and I’m trying to get to the puck and get around the guy. I lost my edge. Next thing, we’re in the boards together. I am glad he is OK. It’s one of those things. You don’t want to see a guy laying on the ice. The referee had to make that call. I was disappointed that it happened.”
Based on his track record, the video replay, the fact that McQuaid appeared to be fine after the game (not that it should be a factor, but it has been in the way the NHL doles out suspensions), and the fact that Shelley went out of his way to apologize to McQuaid shortly after the hit, I would be surprised if Shelley was awarded a lengthy punishment. Still, the league has rules about going for the body on an icing call and they would have some answering to do if Shelley skated away completely absolved.
I would expect at least a one or two game suspension. That leaves Shelley out of the line-up against the Pens and the Montreal Canadiens, both elite teams in the Eastern Conference. I would expect Eric Wellwood to get the call-up from the Phantoms in the event of a suspension. I don’t know if coach Peter Laviolette would sit Wellwood over a veteran player like Dan Carcillo or Nikolay Zherdev, but it wouldn’t come as a complete surprise based on how both have been limited in ice time this season.
A suspension is not how I would have liked to have seen this team without Shelley, and his apology towards McQuaid was a nice gesture considering the freak nature of the hit. It will be interesting to see how Colin Campbell and the NHL’s wheel of morality spins this.
