Signed to help anchor the fourth line and take key faceoffs, Halpern did precisely that for the bulk of the regular season but by March he was on the outside looking in as the Capitals tried to push toward the playoffs. Halpern was a healthy scratch for 12 of the final 15 regular season games. He continued to sit throughout the playoffs and only got in the lineup after Jay Beagle broke his foot in Game 5 of the second round.

On the heels of Dale Hunter’s departure, Alex Ovechkin was asked what he thought the Capitals would need moving forward to continue making progress as a team, whether they would need a new coach with a similar playing style or something completely different.

Alexander Semin is one of six Capitals players set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but his agent made it clear on Monday that the team’s current style of play doesn’t make best use of the winger.

Capitals center Jay Beagle kept a diary through Washington’s playoff run, which ended Saturday in Game 7 with a loss to New York. Here is his reflection on the end of Washington’s season, as told by phone to The Post’s Greg Schimmel:

Coach Dale Hunter said he discussed the decision to resign with his family last night, slept on his thoughts and made his choice this morning.

Hunter steps down as coach; McPhee will take time finding replacement

Post columnist Thomas Boswell was in the midst of his Monday morning chat when he caught wind of Dale Hunter’s decision to step down as Capitals head coach.

This was his immediate reaction:

UNBELIEVABLE!

Dale Hunter informed Washington Capitals General Manager George McPhee during a meeting this morning that he will be stepping down as head coach.

“This was a tough decision,” Hunter said Monday. “It was the right thing for me and my family.”

Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin will join Russia and Nicklas Backstrom will join Sweden for the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships later this week. The tournament is taking place in Helsinki and Stockholm.

Of all the questions facing the Capitals this offseason, perhaps the most pressing and one that will weigh heavily on the other moves made this summer is whether Dale Hunter will return as coach.

In his postgame press conference following the Game 7 loss to New York, Hunter did not want to discuss his future plans.

As the Capitals accumulated a deep pool of goaltending talent over the past few years, the question of which young prospect would lead the team for years going forward remained. After this playoff run and the breakout performance of Braden Holtby, though, they might have their answer.