Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Brandon Dubinsky calls Jody Shelley a ‘terrible hockey player’

Toronto Maple Leafs v New York Rangers

of the New York Rangers of the Toronto Maple Leaves at Madison Square Garden on October 27, 2011 in New York City.

Nick Laham

Many people claim that the Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals rivalry is fabricated, but the lack of a post-game handshake in the 2011 Winter Classic showed that they certainly don’t love each other. The 2012 Winter Classic has the potential to get significantly nastier, though; at least if the chirping between New York Rangers forward Brandon Dubinsky and Philadelphia Flyers fighter Jody Shelley is any indication.

After Shelley called Dubinsky a “weasel,” Dubinsky cut to the core of Shelley’s hockey being. Here’s the highlights of what he said, via ESPN New York’s Katie Strang:

“It won’t be long before he’s out of the league, because he’s a terrible hockey player,” Dubinsky said. “First of all, if I [were] him, I’d keep my mouth shut if I don’t play, especially since I never see him on the ice. He’s usually just yapping from the bench, and I guess now he’s yapping from behind the video camera. So that’s about all I have to say.”

That actually wasn’t all Dubinsky had to say, though. He apparently called Zac Rinaldo “an idiot” and said, “He’s not really a good hockey player ... they should keep putting him on the ice because he’s a liability against us.”

Judging from those spicy quotes, it seems clear that at least one Ranger won’t just spout cliches at the HBO cameras. The most surprising part is that Shelley was once a teammate of his, although Dubinsky might contend that he was only a part-timer.

Either way, Dubinsky is rattling the cage of some dangerous Flyers, which should be a lot more fun for the hockey-viewing public than anyone on the ice.