COLUMBUS, Ohio — A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Columbus Blue Jackets:
Item No. 1: On the rise
Jody Shelley worked his regular gig as the Blue Jackets color analyst for FanDuel Sports Network last Saturday in Los Angeles and Sunday in Anaheim. He was up ridiculously early the following morning to catch a flight to Calgary to help call last Monday’s game between the Flames and Kings on Amazon Prime.
Have a seat, we’re just getting started.
Early Tuesday, Shelley flew from Calgary to Seattle to rejoin the Blue Jackets for that night’s game vs. the Kraken. After the game, he caught a red-eye flight from Seattle to Pittsburgh to join TNT’s coverage of the Penguins game against the Red Wings on Wednesday.
On Thursday, he breathed. Then came a Blue Jackets home game vs. the Penguins on Friday and a late-night flight to Montreal for Saturday’s Blue Jackets-Canadiens game. That brings us to today, when Shelley will remain in Montreal while the Blue Jackets fly to Boston because he’s working the Edmonton-Montreal game on Monday for Amazon.
“It was great in the summer when we put this schedule together,” Shelley joked. “But weeks like this … ”
All kidding aside, Shelley, 48, is having a blast. Since retiring as a player after the 2012-13 season, Shelley’s second career in hockey has gone exceedingly well. In the last few years especially, he’s become one of the NHL’s more recognizable national voices.
Lights, camera, Prime. 🎬
Introducing the broadcast talent squad for Prime Monday Night Hockey. pic.twitter.com/hlbtygMc85
— Sports on Prime Canada (@SportsOnPrimeCA) September 23, 2024
Shelley has worked with NBC, TNT and NHL Network for the past several seasons, but landing the job with Amazon Prime this fall has been his biggest boost yet. And here’s the best part: They went looking for him, not the other way around.
“I was at NHL Network and (the league’s chief content officer) Steve Mayer mentioned Amazon to me,” Shelley said, “I didn’t know anything about it.
“Then, at a playoff game (last spring), I ran into a guy who was with Amazon and he asked for my email and said they were trying to get in contact with me. In May, I had an interview. They were looking for Canadian talent. It worked out well.”
Shelley signed a two-year deal with Amazon. And just like that, his calendar filled up like a CEO’s.
“The (television) landscape is changing so far, and nobody really knows what’s next,” Shelley said. “Being busy is good right now.”
Shelley was one of the NHL’s premiere pugilists during his 627-game, 12-year career with the Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers. But he always had insights and intelligence that belied his tough guy image and made broadcasting an obvious choice to many as his second career.
It wasn’t obvious to him, though.
“I always had a good relationship with (former Blue Jackets TV play-by-play voice) Jeff Rimer, and he always talked about it (for me),” Shelley said. “But I never believed it.”
Shelley’s last three NHL seasons were spent in Philadelphia, where two of the game’s best analysts — former players Keith Jones and Bill Clement — were based. Shelley and Clement were frequent lunch buddies, and Shelley would pick his brain.
“But when I retired, I really wanted to get into hockey operations,” Shelley said.
That was in 2013, one year after the Blue Jackets hired John Davidson — perhaps the best hockey analyst ever — to serve as the president of hockey operations. Shelley, a franchise legend with the Blue Jackets, arranged a meeting with Davidson after the season.
“I said hockey operations,” Shelley said. “And J.D. said, ‘We’ve got nothing for you, but you have to try broadcasting.’ I wasn’t interested in that, so I left J.D.’s office and he told me to come back in two weeks.
“I came back in two weeks. I said I’d love to do hockey operations, and he said ‘No! Broadcasting!’ He said, ‘Just try it. You’ll love the experience and the lifestyle.’ So I said, ‘All right, I’ll try it.’”
Shelley started in radio with the Blue Jackets but quickly moved into the TV booth with Rimer doing play-by-play. When producer Joe Whelan came to the Blue Jackets from MSG Network in New York, Shelley started to think more nationally.
“Joe got me thinking bigger and he helped me connect with the NHL Network, and that’s really where I started getting national attention,” Shelley said.
Does he still harbor dreams of working in an NHL front office?
“I don’t really,” Shelley said. “I do think I could help. Everybody does if they’re close to the game, probably. But J.D. was right. Other than being away from my family, which is tough, I do enjoy the work and I do enjoy the lifestyle.”
Item No. 2: Johnson’s return
While the Blue Jackets were doing contact drills at the end of practice last Thursday, winger Kent Johnson was on the other end of the ice talking with coach Dean Evason.
Evason would later say that Johnson, who has not yet been medically cleared from an early season shoulder injury, was trying to talk his way into joining the drills, which may have allowed him to return the following night against Pittsburgh.
Johnson, out since the fourth game of the season, has been begging to return, not just against Pittsburgh on Friday but in Montreal on Saturday. He’s getting close and traveled with the Blue Jackets on this two-game trip through Montreal and Boston.
There’s an outside chance he plays Monday against the Bruins, but it’s more likely he returns on Thursday against Tampa Bay after hard practices on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We’re going to show an abundance of patience,” GM Don Waddell said. “He’s not playing until he’s more than ready to return.”
A welcome sight if you’re a #CBJ fan pic.twitter.com/r3PdrmnKvH
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) November 14, 2024
Johnson was injured on Oct. 17 vs. Buffalo when he launched himself up and over teammate Erik Gudbranson, who was barreling toward him after being knocked off his skates. Johnson landed awkwardly on his left shoulder, which was surgically repaired last spring.
You could feel the air go out of Nationwide Arena as Johnson skated off the ice clutching his left shoulder.
“I’m lucky it wasn’t as bad (as the first injury),” Johnson said. “I got to a point where I was hoping for the best but expecting the worst, but in the back of my head I had the thought that it just didn’t feel as bad as the first time it was injured.”
Another relief came a few days later after a battery of tests. Johnson wouldn’t clarify what part of the shoulder was injured this time, but it was a different area, he said, than the initial injury. And …
“It was nice to get a clear decision,” Johnson said. “Like, it wasn’t a tough call (surgery or no surgery). It was very clear that I didn’t need surgery.”
It’s quite something when you consider the circumstances surrounding Johnson’s two shoulder injuries.
On Feb. 28, he was taking a faceoff against the Rangers’ Jonny Brodzinski with 12 seconds remaining in a game the Blue Jackets trailed 4-1. Johnson’s left arm was pulled down awkwardly by the force of the two sticks jamming for the puck.
Johnson chuckled as he walked through the Oct. 17 injury.
“It was a delayed penalty and I wanted to keep the play going,” he said. “It’s one of those things now where I’m like, ‘Why did I even go for that? We’re going to be on the power play in like two seconds.’
“It’s hockey. It’s quick decisions, so you can’t beat yourself up over it.”
Item No. 3: Snacks
• Waddell is vowing to show great patience with Blue Jackets defense prospect Denton Mateychuk, who probably deserved an NHL roster spot out of training camp but was sent to AHL Cleveland to continue his development. Mateychuk is doing his job by testing that patience (in a good way) with his play. Heading into Sunday’s slate of games in the AHL, Mateychuk leads all AHL defensemen in scoring (5-9-14), has a plus-1 rating and has 30 shots on goal. Three of his goals have come on the power play. He’s tied with veteran AHLer Rocco Grimaldi (4-10-14) for the team lead in points.
Jet Greaves with the OT assist🍎
Denton Mateychuk with the OT tally🚨@monstershockey | #CLEvsPRO pic.twitter.com/8jeZZXWF0K
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) November 16, 2024
• The Blue Jackets will need a roster spot when Johnson is activated from injured reserve this week. They’ve carried eight defensemen since claiming Dante Fabbro off waivers from Nashville last weekend, so something has to give. Jordan Harris, who would need waivers to be assigned to AHL Cleveland, has played the past two games on the third pair with Jake Christiansen. David Jiricek, who does not need waivers, has been a healthy scratch in four straight games. He’s played in only five of the club’s first 17 games.
• Every once in a while the NHL/AHL schedules collide in the best way. On Sunday, the Blue Jackets took a late morning flight from Montreal to Boston. Upon landing, Waddell and others drove an hour to Providence to catch the Sunday afternoon game between the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and Providence Bruins. They’ll likely see Gavin Brindley’s AHL debut. Brindley, a second-round pick (No. 34) of the Blue Jackets in 2023, suffered a broken finger near the end of training camp. He was activated from injured reserve and sent to the AHL last week.
• In Friday’s 6-2 win over Pittsburgh, the Blue Jackets had 15 different players collect either a goal or an assist, the second-most point-getters in a game in franchise history. The only time more players registered a point was on Nov. 4, 2016, when the Blue Jackets beat Montreal 10-0 in Nationwide Arena with 16 players contributing offensively.
• In five of the Blue Jackets’ six wins this season, they’ve scored exactly six goals. They won 6-4 at Colorado on Oct. 12, 6-4 vs. Buffalo on Oct. 17, 6-2 vs. Toronto on Oct. 22, 6-1 vs. Edmonton on Oct. 28 and 6-2 vs. the Penguins on Friday. That’s already more games this season with six or more goals than the Blue Jackets have had in 17 of the franchise’s 23 previous seasons. The most came in 2018-19 when they scored six or more goals in 11 games. The Jackets had eight such games last season.
• Former Blue Jackets forward Josh Anderson, who was traded to Montreal before the 2020-21 season, scored the 5-1 goal against his former club in the Canadiens rout on Saturday. We found this hard to believe, but true: Anderson has already played more games with Montreal (286) than he did with Columbus (267).
• Zach Werenski’s second-period assist on Fabbro’s goal Saturday moves him within two points (94-221-315) of David Vyborny (113-204-317) for fifth on the Blue Jackets franchise points list. He could end up fourth before the season ends as he’s currently 19 points shy of Nick Foligno (142-192-334).
• This week’s Sunday Gathering trivia question: The Blue Jackets’ all-time top 10 scoring leaders are Rick Nash (547), Cam Atkinson (402), Boone Jenner (364), Foligno (334), Vyborny (317), Werenski (315), R.J. Umberger (250), Oliver Bjorkstrand (234), Brandon Dubinsky (225) and Seth Jones (223). Only two of those players have a positive plus-minus rating during their Columbus careers. Name them.
• With Shelley broadcasting in Montreal on Monday, Hall of Fame broadcaster John Davidson will step back into the booth for his second game with Steve Mears on FanDuel Sports Network. Davidson, now a senior advisor with the Jackets after 12 years as president of hockey operations, has committed to broadcast at least three more Monday games this season.
• Prospect winger Jordan Dumais is traveling to Columbus this week to meet with Blue Jackets team doctors. It’s anticipated Dumais will need a second hernia surgery before he’s cleared to resume skating, but there’s still hope he’ll be able to play at some point this season. When he’s medically cleared, he’ll start his pro career with AHL Cleveland, but there will be plenty of rust. Dumais, a third-round pick (No. 96) of Columbus in 2022, played in only 26 games last season between his junior club (Halifax) and Team Canada in the World Junior Championship.
• Trivia answer: Atkinson had a plus-17 rating in 627 games with the Blue Jackets while Foligno had a plus-16 rating in 599 games with the franchise.
(Top photo of Jody Shelley in 2019: Claus Andersen / Getty Images)
