Stanley Cup-winning coach in the running for Capitals Head Coach role

The Washington Capitals are on the look out for a new Head Coach after they mutually parted ways with Peter Laviolette in mid-April and we're beginning to know some of the candidates they have their eyes on.

According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, former Washington Capitals forward and current Tampa Bay Lightning Assistant Coach Jeff Halpern is among the names in the mix.

Halpern, a native of Washington, spent the first six seasons of his National Hockey League career with the Capitals after signing with them as an undrafted free agent out of Princeton University. After five seasons spent with Dallas, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles and Montreal, Halpern returned to Washington for the 2011-12 campaign.

In 2016, two years after retiring, the 47-year-old joined the AHL's Syracuse Crunch as an Assistant Coach and then in June 2018, he was promoted to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the same role. While with the Lightning, Halpern has won two Stanley Cups.


While the Capitals are likely in the preliminary phase of their search for a new head coach, bringing back a former player who is from the area and has won two Stanley Cups behind the bench would go over very well with the fanbase.