Jeff Halpern

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size=
team=Tampa Bay Lightning
former_teams = Washington Capitals
Dallas Stars
league = NHL
position = Center
shoots = Right
height_ft = 6
height_in = 0
weight_lb = 198
nickname = Halpie
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date|1976|5|3|mf=y
birth_place = Potomac, Maryland
career_start = 1999

Jeff Halpern (born May 3 1976 in Potomac, Maryland) is an American professional ice hockey player with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League.

Playing career

After graduating from Princeton University, Halpern began his NHL career in the 1999-2000 NHL season for the Washington Capitals; he played in 79 games, scoring 18 goals with 11 assists, and was +21. He was the first member of the Capitals to come from the Washington, D.C. area, as he hails from the suburb of Potomac, Maryland as an alum of Winston Churchill High School.

The 2003-04 NHL season was his highest-scoring season to date as he finished with 19 goals and 27 assists in 79 games.

During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Halpern played for the Kloten Flyers and for HC Ajoie in Switzerland, and returned to the Capitals when the lockout ended. On September 23, 2005, the Washington Capitals named Halpern as their team captain. He became the 12th captain in the Capitals' franchise history.Cite web|url=http://washingtoncaps.com/display_cont.asp?cont_id=293035|title=Hometown Hero|accessdate=2006-09-21|author=Mike Vogel] In the 2005-06 NHL season, he scored 11 goals, and added a career-high 33 assists.

On July 5, 2006, Halpern left the Capitals as a free agent and signed a 4-year deal with the Dallas Stars.

On February 26, 2008, Halpern was dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning along with Mike Smith, Jussi Jokinen, and a 2009 4th-round draft pick in exchange for Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist. Halpern scored a goal in his Lightning debut, and added an assist. After being acquired by the Lightning, Halpern went on a huge hot streak, scoring 10 goals and 18 points in 19 games. He also led the league during the 2007-08 NHL season in games played as one of only two players to appear in 83 games, or one more than a team's full schedule, as based on his trade to Tampa Bay (the other being Brian Campbell.)

Halpern was named as the captain of the United States national team for the 2008 World Championships in Canada. Playing in a 5-4 loss in the opening round against the Canadian team on May 6, 2008, he suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and is expected to be out of action for 6-8 months, after leaving the team for Washington where a diagnosis was made. Cite web|url=http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=237066&lid=sublink01&lpos=headlines_nhl|title=Lightning's Halpern expected to miss 6-8 months|accessdate=2008-05-08|author=TSN] . This occurred in the same game where USA goaltender Tim Thomas was also injured and had to leave the team. [ [http://www.usahockey.com//Template_Usahockey.aspx?NAV=TU_01_03&ID=228956 USA Hockey ] ]

Miscellaneous

As of 2005, Halpern is one of a handful of Jewish players in the NHL; some of the others include Mike Cammalleri, Brooks Orpik and Mathieu Schneider.Cite web|url=http://www.jewishsports.com/jewsin/nhl.htm|title=Jews in the NHL|accessdate=2006-09-21]

Awards

Halpern is a member of the Greater Washington (D.C.) Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Career statistics

International play

Played for the United States in:

*2000 World Championships
*2001 World Championships
*2004 World Championships
*2004 World Cup of Hockey
*2005 World Championships
*2008 World Championships

International statistics

References

External links

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