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Alexander Alexeyev

Penguins Sign Alexander Alexeyev To One-Year Contract

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Free agent defenseman Alexander Alexeyev is staying in the Metropolitan Division after being non-tendered by the Capitals. PuckPedia reports he’s landed a one-year, one-way, league-minimum commitment from the Penguins.

Alexeyev is the third defenseman Pittsburgh has signed to a one-way contract in free agency, joining Caleb Jones and Parker Wotherspoon. They also swapped righties with the Sabres in a draft-day trade, parting ways with Conor Timmins and acquiring Connor Clifton. He’ll compete with all of them for jobs on a Pittsburgh blue line that has perhaps the most roster spots up for grabs of any team in the league entering 2025-26.

Alexeyev spent his first four NHL seasons in Washington, which drafted him with their first-round pick after winning the Stanley Cup in 2018. The stay-at-home lefty has panned out as a big No. 7 option but not much more. He was also the most frequently-scratched player in the league last season, only making eight appearances despite never sustaining a long-term injury or receiving a full-time AHL assignment.

The 6’4″, 229-lb rearguard was a more frequent name in the Caps’ lineup in the prior two seasons. All in all, he’s recorded a goal and seven assists for eight points in 80 NHL games, posting a minus-eight rating while recording 121 blocks and 91 hits and averaging 15 minutes per game.

The Pens’ right side is essentially locked in with Clifton, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson, barring a trade for the latter. It’s the left side where virtually every spot is a battle amid a list of candidates that includes Alexeyev, Jones, Wotherspoon, Ryan Graves, Ryan Shea, and 2022 first-round pick Owen Pickering. One or two of those names won’t be on the opening night roster in a few months.

Capitals Notes: Alexeyev, Free Agents, Fehervary, Sourdif

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Following the end of the draft today, Capitals GM Chris Patrick met with the media (video link) and provided updates on several players.  While not going out and confirming that the team won’t be tendering Alexander Alexeyev a qualifying offer on Monday, he stated that the team is “going to be as helpful as we can to him to get him the best opportunity to play in the NHL next year.”  Alexeyev was limited to just eight games during the regular season with Washington and with their addition of Declan Chisholm earlier today, it’s harder to see a pathway to playing time if he remains with the Capitals.  Knowing that a qualifying offer would also carry arbitration rights, the likeliest outcome is that he’s cut loose.

More from Patrick’s presser:

  • Patrick indicated that he’s spoken to almost all of Washington’s pending unrestricted free agents, a list that includes forwards Anthony Beauvillier, Andrew Mangiapane, Lars Eller, and Taylor Raddysh. He added that he’s still talking to some of them so it’s not a guarantee that all of them will ultimately hit the open market on Tuesday.  The Caps currently have a little over $9MM in cap space for next season, per PuckPedia.
  • When asked about defenseman Martin Fehervary, Patrick stated that the blueliner is doing great in his recovery from meniscus surgery and is pretty much at the point where he can begin his normal offseason training routine. That would suggest that the 25-year-old will be ready to participate in training camp.  Fehervary played in all but one game during the regular season but wasn’t able to suit up in the playoffs due to the surgery.
  • Newcomer Justin Sourdif signed earlier today, inking a two-year deal. The trade earlier this week to acquire him raised some eyebrows given that the cost was a second-round pick plus a sixth for a player who only had four NHL appearances under his belt in three years.  Patrick noted that there was another suitor for Sourdif’s services that had a second-rounder on the table, one that was slightly better than Washington’s, requiring them to offer up the extra draft choice to make sure they got him.

Evening Notes: Kane, Klingberg, Team USA, Backlund, Alexeyev

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After giving up six goals on 30 shots, it was clear throughout Game One that the Edmonton Oilers could use some reinforcements. According to Sportsnet’s Jack Michaels, that could be a realistic possibility relatively soon.

Michaels publicized a note from Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch indicating that there’s a “very good possibility” Edmonton will have forward Evander Kane and defenseman John Klingberg for Game 2 in their opening-round series against the Los Angeles Kings. Neither player offers much in the defensive zone, but could prove valuable on the Oilers’ forecheck.

Kane will be the most interesting of the two to reinsert into the lineup. Despite letting in six goals, Edmonton still produced five, meaning Kane could give them the offensive edge to win the one-goal contests if their defense and goaltending struggle. Meanwhile, Klingberg failed to garner much offensive consistency with the Oilers in limited action this year, scoring one goal and four points in 11 games.

Other evening notes:

  • Earlier today, USA Hockey announced the rest of their coaching staff for the 2025 IIHF World Championships. According to the announcement, Mike Vellucci (Pittsburgh Penguins), Kevin Dean (Chicago Blackhawks), and Adam Nightingale (Michigan State University) will serve as assistant coaches to head coach Ryan Warsofsky. Meanwhile, Thomas Speer has been named the team’s goaltending coach, while Nick Gialdini (San Jose Sharks) and Lawrence Feloney (Nashville Predators) will be the team’s video coaches.
  • On the other side of the bracket, the Calgary Flames announced an important for Team Sweden this afternoon. The Flames shared that captain Mikael Backlund will participate in the World Championships for Sweden for the first time in seven years. Backlund delivered an outstanding performance in the 2018 IIHF World Championships, scoring two goals and accumulating nine points in 10 games, which helped lead Sweden to consecutive gold medals.
  • Despite winning in overtime in Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens, the Washington Capitals had an injury scare late in the third period when defenseman Alexander Alexeyev left the game due to being high-sticked by Jake Evans. Fortunately, Alexeyev’s absence will not be lengthy, as Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports he will rejoin the lineup tomorrow night. It’s an important injury update for the Capitals as the team recently lost defenseman Martin Fehérváry for the postseason due to knee surgery.

Capitals’ Martin Fehérváry Out For Season After Knee Surgery

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The Washington Capitals have announced that defenseman Martin Fehérváry will miss the entirety of the postseason after undergoing surgery to address a meniscus injury in his right knee. Fehérváry sustained the injury in the final game of Washington’s regular season. The injury held him out of Washington’s playoff opener on Monday. In his place, the Capitals utilized depth defenseman Alexander Alexeyev – who only appeared in eight regular season games this season.

Fehérváry was getting run as a top-pair defenseman in Washington’s final few games. He averaged just under 20 minutes of ice time through his final 10 games of the season, bringing his season long average up to an even 19 minutes per game. Fehérváry showed well in his middling role in the lineup, with 25 points and a plus-18 in 81 games – all career-highs. He’s proven to be an effective defender on his own side of the blue line, with a long reach and strong physical play that made him the set-back match for aggressive partners like Matt Roy and John Carlson. Fehérváry was set to be leaned on heavily through the postseason, on a left-hand side that would have made the Capitals absolutely formidable – behind Jakob Chychrun and Rasmus Sandin.

Instead, the Capitals will have to turn towards the untested Alexeyev in their must-win matchups. Unforutnately, even that plan may be knocked awry after Alexeyev lost some teeth in the third period of Game 1. He was hit in the mouth by the skate of Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans and had to leave the game, only to return during the overtime period. Head coach Spencer Carbery shared postgame that Alexeyev would need some “significant dental work” after the incident, per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.

It’s unclear if Alexeyev will need to sit out of Game 2. If he does, the absence will be another pile on the string of injuries and absences that held Alexeyev to just 11 games combined between the NHL and AHL this season. He underwent shoulder surgery at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, with a rehab that dragged into the summer. Alexeyev went on to miss time due to personal reasons and routine healthy scratches throughout this season. He managed no scoring in eight NHL games, but did have two assists in three AHL games – production that Washington will need to tap into this Spring. If Alexeyev is forced to miss time, the Capitals will have to turn towards extra defenseman Ethan Bear. Bear was the star of the AHL’s Hershey Bears this season, with a team-leading 46 points in 62 games. He is the only extra defenseman on Washington’s roster, though they could also recall Vincent Iorio or Brad Hunt from the minor leagues.

Capitals Recall Alexander Alexeyev From Conditioning Loan

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March 6: Alexeyev is back up from his conditioning loan, the Caps announced. His reinstatement doesn’t affect their active roster count. He posted two assists and a plus-five rating in his successful three-game showing for Hershey.

March 1: The Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals are seeking more playing time for one of the team’s depth defensemen. Washington announced they’ve assigned Alexander Alexeyev to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, on a conditioning loan.

There should be an honest question about why this move didn’t happen sooner. Alexeyev has registered zero points in five games with Washington this season, averaging 13:13 of ice time per game, with his last contest coming on November 8th. Assigning him on a conditioning loan allows Alexeyev two weeks in the AHL without requiring waivers, although he does have to sign off on the assignment.

It would be difficult for the Capitals to find a better situation for Alexeyev. The Bears are again one of the top teams in the American Hockey League standings with a 31-14-5-0 record in 50 games played, just six points back of the league-leading Rochester Americans with three games in hand. Hershey could create quite the formidable duo on defense should they pair Alexeyev with Ethan Bear, who’s scored eight goals and 33 points in 46 games this season.

Due to a relatively healthy blue line, Washington hasn’t needed Alexeyev much this season. Still, even when their defensive core sustained a few injuries, the Capitals deployed veteran Dylan McIlrath more than the St. Petersburg, Russia native. Neither defenseman has played all that well in limited action, leading to speculation that the Capitals could add a more consistent depth option at the trade deadline.

Throughout his career, Alexeyev has scored one goal and eight points in 77 games for Washington since debuting in the 2021-22 season. He’s been relatively physical over that stretch with 117 blocked shots and 88 hits but still has a career Expected +/- of -5.7, according to Hockey Reference.

He’s understandably been more influential at the AHL level, scoring six goals and 44 assists in 142 contests with the Bears with a +26 rating. Alexeyev can play six games on the conditioning loan for AHL Hershey should he stay for the maximum of two weeks.

Evening Notes: Jankowski, Chychrun, Roy, Alexeyev

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Just before puck drop of tonight’s contest between the Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers, the former announced an injury update for one of their forwards. The Predators shared Mark Jankowski would not suit up in tonight’s action as he’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

The injury was likely suffered in the team’s most recent game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on October 28th or during practice on one of the following days. Per the announcement from Nashville, Jankowski is considered day-to-day meaning his availability for Saturday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche may be questionable.

Before tonight’s injury designation, Jankowski had suited up in all nine of the Predators’ games to start the season. He’s only tallied one assist while primarily playing left wing on the team’s third line averaging 12:43 of ice time per game. Juuso Pärssinen drew in for the injured Jankowski tonight marking his second game of the season and could draw in again on Saturday.

Other notes from earlier:

  • The Washington Capitals are deploying a shell of their potential blue line with defensemen Jakob Chychrun and Matt Roy nursing separate injuries. Neither blue liner drew into tonight’s contest against the Montreal Canadiens but all signs indicate this reality may not last much longer. Bailey Johnson of the Washington Post reported earlier that both defensemen were skating in non-contact jerseys earlier today hinting that their return may be close. Roy, the Capitals impact free agent signing from the offseason, has only suited up in one game in Washington this season before suffering a lower-body injury.
  • Washington did get one reinforcement back on the blue line with Alexander Alexeyev returning to the team from personal leave (X Link). Alexeyev and his wife were celebrating the birth of their first child and now the St. Petersburg, Russia native will play his first game of the 2024-25 NHL season. He skated in 39 games for the Capitals last season registering one goal and three points while averaging 13:42 of ice time per game.

Injury Notes: Capitals, Hakanpaa, Määttä, Kesselring

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The Washington Capitals will have a mess to sort out on defense with Jakob Chychrun (upper-body) and Alexander Alexeyev (personal) each out day-to-day, per Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network. El-Bashir also shares that Matt Roy, who has been out since October 12th, is nearing a return but likely won’t play on Thursday.

Chychrun suffered his injury after just four shifts in Washington’s Tuesday night win over the New York Rangers. He was seen nursing his left ribs partway through his final shift, though it’s hard to place exactly when he suffered his injury.

Alexeyev and Roy would stand as the de facto options to fill Chychrun’s top-pair role. But with both also potentially missing Thursday night’s game, the Capitals will have to instead turn towards Rasmus Sandin or Martin Fehervary to fill their role of top left-defender. The team could also turn to the minor leagues for a fill-in, where Hardy Haman-Aktell stands as the top left-defense with three assists in six games to start the year.

Other notes from blue-lines around the league:

  • Defenseman Jani Hakanpaa is nearing his debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs after spending the start of the season on IR with a knee injury, shares David Alter of The Hockey News. Hakanpaa opened the year on long-term injured reserve, nursing an injury that ended his 2023-24 campaign in March. He proceeded to go through contract cartwheels with Toronto throughout the summer, signing with the team in July but not finalizing the deal until September. He joined Toronto’s practices on October 2nd, and even traveled with the team on their recent two-game road trip – all suggesting a return is imminent. Hakanpaa is awaiting clearance from Toronto’s doctors and activation off of LTIR, but figures to support the team’s defensive depth when he returns.
  • The Utah Hockey Club could plan to ice seven defensemen on Wednesday – per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports – with Michael Kesselring returning from illness (link) and Olli Määttä quickly joining the team after trade (link). Kesselring has so far played in all 10 of Utah’s games, and ranks second on the blue-line in scoring with five points. Meanwhile, Maatta has yet to change his stat line at all this season – recording no scoring, no penalties, and no lasting change in +/- through seven games with the Detroit Red Wings. He was flipped to Utah for a 2025 third-round pick, and offers much-needed depth to a Utah club without both Sean Durzi and John Marino for the long-term. Kesselring should maintain his spot on the team’s top pair, while Maatta will join Vladislav Kolyachonok and Maveric Lamoureux in fighting for depth ice time.

Washington Capitals Sign Alexander Alexeyev To Extension

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9:17 AM: The Capitals have made the signing official with a team announcement (Tweet Link). The contract will be a 2-year, $1.65MM extension, paying him $775K in 2023-24, and $875K in 2024-25.

7:51 AM: The Washington Capitals are closing in on a two-year extension with defenseman Alexander Alexeyev, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Monday night. PuckPedia adds the contract carries a cap hit of $825,000, paying Alexeyev $775,000 in 2023-24 and $875,000 in 2024-25.

Alexeyev, 23, was set to be a restricted free agent without arbitration rights this offseason. His new contract comes in below his $874,125 qualifying offer.

Selected with the last pick of the first round in 2018, Alexeyev made the jump to the NHL full-time this season, although he likely wouldn’t have if not for significant injuries to the Washington blue line. Playing in 32 games with the Capitals, Alexeyev registered five assists and a -2 rating.

The hulking 6-foot-4, 210-pound defenseman was on a decent development track up until the past two seasons, even if the first-round selection was a tad bit of a reach. But his offensive production in the minors last season took a nosedive, posting 19 points in 68 games with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, and didn’t showcase a ton in the NHL this year.

That’s not to say Alexeyev is a bust. Defensemen do traditionally take longer to develop, and he still has plenty of ground left to cover at 23. Unless Washington signs a significant upgrade on pending unrestricted free agent Matt Irwin, Alexeyev is destined for a spot on Washington’s roster out of camp next year, where he’ll get another chance to show what he’s capable of at the NHL level, especially in his transition game.

Washington Capitals Activate Alexander Alexeyev

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According to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, the Washington Capitals have activated defenseman Alexander Alexeyev off of IR today. The defenseman is listed as a healthy scratch for tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators. The Capitals haven’t formally announced the transaction, however Alexeyev is listed as healthy on the team’s roster page.

Alexeyev landed on IR back on December 11th with an upper-body injury, the recipient of an illegal hit from Jamie Oleksiak of the Seattle Kraken. Oleksiak was suspended three games for the hit.

The defenseman has played sparingly this season, having dealt with a pair of injuries, opening the season on IR. Alexeyev made his season debut on November 9th. He wouldn’t play again for nearly a month, but played four consecutive games prior to suffering this injury. In five NHL games this year, Alexeyev has one point, an assist, which was the first of his NHL career. The 24-year-old played four AHL games this season as well, recording an assist in the process there too.

Injury Notes: Capitals, Jets, Krug

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It’s been a tough season thus far for the Washington Capitals, who sit three points out of the New York Rangers and a Wild Card spot in the East and six points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes for a spot in the Metropolitan Division. No team will ever make excuses, however injuries have been unrelenting for Washington even before the puck dropped on the 2022-23 season. The organization expected a tough go of it early on without some of their stars and all things considered, 30 points in 29 games is not half bad. They’ll have to have a strong season the rest of the way to get into the postseason, but as of right now, injury updates look positive.

Earlier today, the Capitals placed defenseman Alexander Alexeyev and goaltender Darcy Kuemper on IR and recalled defensemen Lucas Johansen and Dylan McIlrath. For Kuemper, that’s not expected to be much of an issue, eligible to come off of IR as soon as Tuesday, and according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, the netminder participated in the team’s morning skate today for the first time since suffering the injury. Also from Gulitti, veteran Dmitry Orlov, who has not played since November 5th due to a lower-body injury, also skated this morning. Perhaps the best news, even if nothing is imminent, is forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson skated this morning in non-contact jerseys, traveling with the team on the road for the first time this season, which appears to be the norm going forward. Both core pieces of this generation’s Capitals squad, getting either back in the lineup would be a massive boost not only to on-ice production, but to off-ice morale too. Still, one bit of bad news, both Alexeyev and Martin Fehervary did not skate this morning, and fellow defenseman Erik Gustafsson left practice early, head coach Peter Laviolette telling Gulitti the Capitals and Gustafsson are “working through some things.”

  • The Winnipeg Jets will be without forward Saku Maenalanen and defenseman Logan Stanley when they take on the Capitals this evening says Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun. No update beyond that was given by associate coach Scott Arniel. Billeck adds that the Jets are trying to get an additional player called up from the Manitoba Moose to join the Jets at home this evening. Billeck adds the Moose, who actually share an arena with the Jets, are on their way to Calgary, however getting a player back from Calgary to Winnipeg by tonight shouldn’t be an issue. As for the injured players, Maenalanen has impressed in a depth role for the Jets this year, recording six points in 25 games, averaging 11:30 a night, his first NHL action since a stint with the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2018-19. Unfortunately for Stanley, who missed a-month-and-a-half, was able to play just two games after coming back before being forced out of the lineup once again.
  • The St. Louis Blues confirmed defenseman Torey Krug would rejoin the lineup Sunday after missing two games with an upper-body injury. The veteran, much like his Blues, has had a shaky start to 2022-23, recording 11 points in 24 games, but comes with a -22 rating, the worst mark in the league. Even amid his struggles, if the Blues hope to re-write their 2022-23 story, it’s more likely than not that Krug will have to be part of the solution, and having him in the lineup would be a start. Though Krug is back, forward Pavel Buchnevich, who also hasn’t played since December 5th, will not play this afternoon, the Blues announced.

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