(UPDATE) Jody Shelley acquired for draft pick in 2011

By Steve ZipayFebruary 12, 2010

The Rangers have acquired veteran enforcer Jody Shelley from the San Jose Sharks for a sixth-round draft pick in 2001.

Not a scorer or a defenseman, Shelley, 34, has 71 penalty minutes this year in 34 games. The left wing, who played six years with the Blue Jackets, is 6-3, 232 and has three assists. He was out two months (23 games) after sustaining a broken hand on Nov. 7 and is earning $725,000 in the final year of a two year contract. Since his return, he's fought Wade Belak and decked Colton Orr the other night. Shelley has piled up more than 1,300 PIMs during his NHL career.

The Rangers now have four similar players, Shelley, Brandon Prust, Aaron Voros and Donald Brashear, on the roster, so something will give. The deal came just prior to the 3 p.m. deadline, when NHL trades had to be consummated for the Olympic break.

Presumably, Brashear, 38, who cleared waivers, will be sent to Hartford at some point during the next two weeks. If the Rangers re-sign Shelley next season, the pick becomes a fifth-rounder. Doubt that will occur, so I assume the Rangers will seek to regain that pick in another transaction down the road.

Very few deals today, so expect a flurry between March 1 and 3. Rangers still need extra D and scoring.