Hey Jeff Halpern, Shut It

Written by The Miz

Wednesday, 13 January 2010 15:06

ovirefpunch

Let me be honest in saying that after being completely disgusted with last night's 7-4 drubbing at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, I had no desire to write any sort of a recap. Games like that are ones that you want to pitch into the garbage and never look at again. However, after taking a look through J.P.'s Breakfast Links this morning, one particular click got me pretty riled up...at least enough to write a post.

Jeff Halpern put on a Washington Capitals' sweater 455 times (regular season and playoffs) from 1999-2006. Seventy of those also saw Halpern don the captain's 'C' for the organization. He racked up 91 goals, 132 assists and 370 PIMs in his time as a Cap. As a guy that grew up in Potomac, MD, he surely understands the impact that Alex Ovechkin has had on hockey's renaissance in the Nation's Capital over the last few years. Heck, he even played with the guy.

So why feed the media beast and come out firing after last night's 7-4 victory for his Lightning? Halpern had this to say regarding a third period altercation between former teammate Alex Ovechkin and current teammate Steve Downie:

"Downs makes a move. (Ovechkin) sticks his knee out, leaves his knee out there. It's not the cheapest hit in the world, but it's still a dirty hit."

This kind of garbage is getting out of hand. It seems as if everyone and their brother calls Ovechkin a dirty hitter, no matter the hit nowadays. Ovechkin's hit on Downie was 100% clean, and someone calling it cheap is a reach if not complete farce. It seems that the Tim Gleason hit (which was not clean, I'll admit) has given people courage enough to call each and every big hit by no. 8 dirty, whether or not his knee was involved. Just because Ovechkin completely annihilated Downie does not mean he had to stick a knee out to do it. He's obviously one of the strongest forwards in the game, and he's perfectly capable of putting most guys on their butts, no matter how he goes at them. Jeff Halpern should understand that considering that he played with Ovechkin for a season and has been in the same division for two more.

Furthermore, what good does it do to call the hit dirty? Does it take the hit back? No. Does it cause Ovechkin to change the way he plays the game? Hell no. It only motivates him to hit harder the next time. Halpern's OWN COACH Rick Tocchet wouldn't say whether he thought Ovechkin led with his knee, and he even went as far as complimenting Ovi for standing up for himself against a more seasoned fighter. If Tocchet isn't willing to piss off the enemy, why is Halpern?

Halpern's comments are nothing more than a stupid teammate spouting off unfounded accusations at an opposing player for a play in which they had no involvement. The problem is, I never thought that Halpern would be the guy to come out run his mouth like this. Although he's playing for a different organization, I believe he should still have some respect for his former friend and teammate, and should have declined to comment. He's not a captain anymore, and it's not really his battle to fight. Downie is a big boy, and he handled his own business out on the ice.

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Comments (4) add comment

vancitycanuck said:

...
I agree with you Miz, clean hit on this one. There have been other times where if you had said this, I may not agree, but in this case I don't see anything wrong with the play.

With regards to Tocchet, well, even if the hit was dirty he would be ok with it. Tocchet is a coach that likes the gritty tough players that are willing to hit and get their nose dirty, which makes him great with grinders, but terrible with his skilled players. I have very little respect for him as a coach, so I wouldn't even give what he says much weight.

January 13, 2010 | url
Votes: +1

jjjjjjj said:

	... Halpern was overrated in DC. He left to play for a contender. Like Brenda Witt. Halpern can rot for all I care -- and I thought that before this latest comment. Look for Halpern in the playoffs... watching from a couch.
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January 14, 2010
Votes: +1

Madflava said:

	Halpern you suck Caps should ban Halpern from using Kettler to train in the summer. He's a moron for calling OV a dirty hitter. All this hate toward OV is the Canadian media trying to make Crosby the face of hockey. Canada, you can suck my dong.
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