Flyers sign tough guy Jody Shelley

In their first head-scratching move of the day, the Flyers have signed forward Jody Shelley to a 3 year deal worth 1.1 million dollars per season. Shelley, a 9 year NHL veteran, is a physical player that loves to drop the gloves every chance he gets. He doesn't do anything offensively, having scored just 49 points in 538 career games with the Blue Jackets, Sharks and Rangers in his career.

Why the Flyers felt the need to add another tough guy to the mix and why they had to give him over a million dollars per year is beyond me. With no real skills besides being physical, Shelley doesn't bring enough to the table to be anything more than a 4th line player who gets just a few minutes of ice time per game.

With Shelley brought in, Arron Asham's days as a Flyer are over. Joining Asham on the list of former Flyers might be restricted free agent Dan Carcillo, who could be the odd man out with Shelley taking over as enforcer. Although Carcillo does have considerably more skill than Shelley, there simply might not be enough room on the team for another agitator.

The Flyers are now dangerously close to the cap and still need to sign at least two more forwards. Everything appears to be setting up for a trade to clear some cap space.