Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the Washington Capitals are close to signing defenseman Alexander Alexeyev to a two-year extension.
In addition to Miroschnichenko, WASH closing in on two-year extension for D Alexander Alexeyev.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 1, 2023
PuckPedia is reporting that the extension is for $775,000 the first season and $875,000 the second season.
Further to @FriedgeHNIC initial report, #ALLCAPS signed 23 y/o LD Alexeyev to 2 year $825K Cap Hit extension:
Year 1 775K
Year 2 875K5P in 32 GP
Rep’d by Craig Oster @TheHockeyAgency https://t.co/je27Nfzhgx https://t.co/IEcfnxuW3b
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) May 1, 2023
The Capitals confirmed the signing the following day.
BIG AL RE-UPS‼️
The Washington Capitals have re-signed defenseman Alex Alexeyev to a two-year, $1.65 million contract. Alexeyev’s one-way contract will pay him $775,000 in 2023-24 and $875,000 in 2024-25.#ALLCAPS
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 2, 2023
Alexeyev, 23, was the Capitals first round draft pick (#31 overall) in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. The 6’-4” left-handed defenseman signed a three-year entry-level contract on September 24, 2018 for $863,333 AAV and was to be a restricted free agent this summer.
2022-23 SEASON
The Capitals announced on June 18 that Alexeyev had undergone labral repair surgery on his left shoulder and was expected to miss 4-5 months. As a result, Alexeyev missed training camp and the start of the 2022-23 season. On top of that, Alexeyev was not waivers exempt this past season, which made things a little more tricky in his management.
The Hershey Bears announced on October 28 that Alexeyev had been officially loaned to the Bears on a long-term injury conditioning assignment. After four games with the Bears and the maximum allowable time for an injury conditioning assignment, the Capitals recalled Alexeyev from Hershey on November 8.
Alexeyev made his regular season debut with the Capitals the following night against Pittsburgh. He did not play again until December 3, but at that point he became a regular in the Capitals starting lineup.
For the 2022-23 season, Alexeyev played in 32 games for the Capitals, had no goals and five assists and was a -2 in more than 500 minutes of ice time. The following are the season stats for Alexeyev at all strengths. [Click to enalrge].
PAIRING PERFORMANCE
Alexeyev was deployed in nine different pairings for the 2022-23 season (not including pairings with Dmitry Orlov and Erik Gustafsson). The following graph plots the performance of each pair combination (left and right side assignments), including time on ice, offensive zone faceoff percentage, expected goals differential and expected goals for percentages at five on five: [Click to enlarge].
We’ve noted in previous posts that the Alexeyev-van Riemsdyk pairing thrived this season, and was one of the best performing pairs for the Capitals, all while seeing just 27.91% offensive zone faceoffs. If Alexeyev earns a starting role on opening night you can be assured he will be paired with van Riemsdyk.
The Capitals tested Alexeyev in the final third of the season, including extended time on the penalty kill and giving him a majority of defensive zone shift starts. Alexeyev answered the bell in many cases and thrived in certain situations (being paired with van Riemsdyk), but by no means did he prove 100% he should get one of the six defensmen spots to start next season. That will be decided in training camp.
Alexander Alexeyev: 2022-23 Washington Capitals Season Review
The injuries remain a concern, as we have documented several times since his draft day (here). While he has suffered a serious knee injury during his time in the WHL, a majority of his significant injuries have come to both shoulders, something that needs to be considered when conducting an overall assessment. Hopefully his shoulder surgery last summer will curtail some of that.
The best role on the Capitals heading into the 2023-24 season, barring a tremendous showing in the preseason, would be to give Alexeyev the seventh defenseman role to start the season. He showed enough down the stretch to earn that as a starting point. The position would allow for his continued development and allow him to work his way into a starters role.
As for Alexeyev, he concluded his breakdown day media interview with his plans for the off-season.”Staying here!”
By Jon Sorensen
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