The Washington Capitals are getting busy quickly as the 2023 calendar flips into May. After locking up 2022 first-round draft selection Ivan Miroshnichenko to his entry-level contract, it appears the Caps will be inking another Russian to a new deal.
Hockey insider Elliotte Friedman reports that the team is closing in on a two-year contract extension for young defenseman Alex Alexeyev. Alexeyev was set to become a restricted free agent this summer.
Friedman reported the news on his Twitter account.
In addition to Miroschnichenko, WASH closing in on two-year extension for D Alexander Alexeyev.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 1, 2023
Alexeyev completed his rookie season with the Caps in the 2022-23 campaign. The 23-year-old former first-round draft pick played very sparingly for the first several months of the season but eventually grabbed a regular spot in the lineup in March.
The Russian rearguard played over 20 minutes in a game six times in March, including a career-high, 25-minute outing against the Anaheim Ducks. He finished the year with five points (5a) from 32 total games.
His late arrival into consistent minutes for the team under Peter Laviolette was something that seemed to baffle Alexeyev’s good buddy Dmitry Orlov.
“I’m glad that they started to let Alexeyev play,” Orlov said in March after being traded to Boston. “It took a long time to happen. I was against keeping him in reserve.”
As things currently stand, Alexeyev looks to be one of the Caps’ six regular defensemen heading into the 2023-24 season. This rumored contract extension will give him the chance to earn a regular role under the team’s next head coach.
Alexeyev’s new deal would be the second move already this offseason that general manager Brian MacLellan has made to tweak his backend. The Caps signed SHL defenseman Hardy Häman Aktell to a one-year, two-way entry-level contract last week.
Update (6:17 pm): The average annual value of the extension is expected to be $825k.
AAV $825K
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 1, 2023
Here is the full breakdown via PuckPedia.
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
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
