Player evaluation: Halpern

JEFF HALPERN Halpern mug
This season: 16 games (with Kings), 0 goals, 2 assists, 12 penalty minutes, 10:41 average ice time.
The good: Acquired at the trade deadline from Tampa Bay, Halpern filled the fourth-line center role and allowed the Kings to be more flexible with Brad Richardson near the end of his impressive season. By coincidence or not, Halpern’s arrival with the Kings coincided with the team’s best stretch of penalty killing all season, and Halpern contributed on the penalty kill and brought a veteran presence to the lineup.
The bad: Dean Lombardi acquired Halpern with the thought that he would help kill penalties and be a versatile player who could move up to a higher line. He went 1-for-2. For whatever reason, Halpern never seemed to click offensively, even during a brief tryout on the first line.
Going forward: Halpern will be a 34-year-old unrestricted free agent this summer, and it’s unlikely that he would return to a Kings team that has other options, within the system, to fill the fourth-line center role.


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