Captastrophe salutes Bethesda's native son on this great day of his triumphant return home. While it remains amazing that anybody from inside the beltway could sign as a free agent out of college and actually make an NHL team, Halpern's first years in Washington were always subject to a sort of fear that his success was just a mass halucination, some sort of collective dimentia induced by the poor quality of the DC Tap Water.
Sure, Jeff Halpern could play for the Capitals. But it was like the endless parade of UMD grads who suited up for the Wizards. They never started, and they got more cheers for running out onto the floor than for their play. Even if Halpern could start for the Capitals, it was only in their bad years, and we always had a sinking feeling that he couldn't even crack the lineup of another NHL team.
This had nothing to do with Halpern's play. The tenacious center could pass, shoot, score and check with the best of them. He used to spend days practicing face-offs with his idol, Dale Hunter. There was nothing he couldn't actually do. We were just afraid that he couldn't actually play anywhere else because he was from Washington, not Montreal or some real hockey city.
Well, last year Jeff Halpern wore Red, White and Blue, but not in Washington. He played with the Montreal Canadiens (the best team in the history of hockey), who traded for him with the Los Angeles Kings (a little team that Wayne Gretzky played with for half of his career). Halpern initially left Washington on a free agent contract with the Dallas Stars, who paid him eight million dollars, and then wound up playing him more than concurrent signings Jason Allison and Eric Lindros.
Halpern hasn't just been around the league. He has made an impact. With Ovechkin leading the Caps, Jeff is unlikely to get the captain's "C" back on his jersey, but his number, eleven, should still fit him just fine.
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