As one wag recently put it in a recent Montreal Gazette letter to the editor: “Go Heebs go!”
That was his reaction after news came out Sept. 7 that the Montreal Canadiens had signed forward Jeff Halpern to a one-year, $600,000 contract.
That made Maryland native Halpern, 34, and 28-year-old star forward Mike Cammalleri, who signed with the Habs a year ago, two Jewish players on one National Hockey League team – arguably for the first time in the league’s history.
Halpern’s start in the NHL was in 1999, playing five seasons for the Washington Capitals. He then played for the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning and spent the 2009-10 season split between the Lightning and Los Angeles Kings. Halpern’s best season was with the Capitals in 2003-04, with 19 goals and 27 assists. His career stats are 131 goals and 316 points over 720 regular season games.
He also captained the U.S. national team for the 2008 World Championships held in Canada and is considered a versatile player, reported to be most comfortable at centre although he played right wing last season.
Halpern also sat out one game with the Capitals in 2006 to observe Yom Kippur and is a member of the Greater Washington Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Cammalleri, who has a Jewish mother (the daughter of Holocaust survivors) and an Italian father, last year signed with the Habs for a record $30 million over five years – that’s 10 times Halpern’s salary averaged out over one year.
Cammalleri was leading the Habs in scoring last season with 26 goals when he was sidelined with a knee injury in January. The Richmond Hill native showed his true stuff, though, during the playoffs, when he led the league in scoring with 13 goals, including seven goals in as many games against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Those numbers tied a team record held by Habs legends such as Jean Beliveau, Bernie (Boom-Boom) Geoffrion, Maurice Richard and Frank Mahovlich.
Cammalleri’s lifetime stats are 158 goals and 337 points over 429 regular season games.
There are other Jewish players competing in the NHL: Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mike Brown; Minnesota Wilds left-winger Eric Nystrom; and former Hab and current Phoenix Coyote defenceman Mathieu Schneider.
