Report: Capitals To Interview Alum, DMV Native Jeff Halpern For Head Coaching Job

The Potomac, Maryland native is currently an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

As the Washington Capitals kick off their search for a head coach, they will reportedly begin with an alumni and DMV native in Jeff Halpern.

Per The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun, Washington has plans to interview Halpern for the head coaching position.

The 47-year-old spent seven years playing for the Capitals organization, picking up 91 goals and 139 assists for 230 points in 507 games. He was the first player in franchise history to be a DMV native, and he also assisted on Alex Ovechkin's first NHL goal.

Halpern grew up in Potomac, Maryland, and attended Churchill High School, but due to the school not having a hockey team, he transferred to St. Paul's School in New Hampshire to continue his development and pursue a career in hockey. He then played in the NCAA for Princeton and after going undrafted, signed his first pro deal with Washington.

After playing in 976 NHL games, he joined the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2015-16 as the team's player development coach and worked as the assistant coach for the Syracuse Crunch in 2016. He worked two seasons with the Crunch before earning a promotion to the Lightning as an assistant, where he helped Tampa to three consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances and back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021.

The Capitals are in the hunt for a new bench boss after parting ways with Peter Laviolette on April 14. Assistants Blaine Forsythe and Kevin McCarthy also parted ways with the club. Scott Allen, Scott Murray, Emily Engel-Natzke and Brett Leonhardt are all set to return to the coaching staff in 2023-24.

Hiring Halpern would bring back a familiar face, as he's shared the locker room with the likes of Ovechkin, as well as Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson back in 2011-12.