What's Next For The Capitals & Alex Alexeyev?
The Capitals defenseman appeared in just eight regular-season games this year. What's next for him as he becomes an RFA?
ARLINGTON, V.A. — For the Washington Capitals, Alex Alexeyev’s development hasn’t gone exactly the way they’d hoped.
The 2018 first-round selection has a handful of NHL games and a couple of seasons at the highest level under his belt, but has yet to establish himself as a full-time regular in the lineup.
This past season, Alexeyev spent the majority of the time as a healthy scratch and appeared in just eight regular-season games, going scoreless with a plus/minus of plus-2 while averaging just 16:04 minutes a night and getting a few games in Hershey to stay fresh.
In the playoffs, he appeared in all 10 games in the wake of Martin Fehervary’s season-ending knee injury, picking up 12 hits and 12 blocks, along with six giveaways and four penalty minutes. However, he didn’t play much, with coach Spencer Carbery essentially rolling five defensemen for most of the games.
That said, president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan didn’t think that Alexeyev got the most out of his season.
"Just the circumstance, it put him in a hard spot where he didn't get enough games. When you don't play as much as he did this year, which is fortunate for us that we've been healthy, but it's frustrating for him,” MacLellan said. “It hurts his development.
“We've done as much as we could without playing games to develop his skills and work on his game, but he's in a difficult spot, and he came in and I thought he played well at the end of the year.”
Alexeyev will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights and is also dealing with an off-ice incident, where he was pepper-sprayed and arrested and charged with public intoxication after an altercation in Clarendon, Virginia, after the season ended.
Putting that incident aside, Alexeyev provides depth and size on the blue line and also fits into the team’s plans to continue getting younger. That said, he could very well get significant minutes and play a regular role elsewhere, which is why a change in scenery is certainly not off the table, either.
Still, Washington doesn’t appear completely ready to give up on the 25-year-old, who still has plenty of upside and potential going forward and could come cheap with a bridge deal or short-term extension.
Ultimately, the plan is to get him more playing time — wherever that may be.
“It would be best if we could get him more games and we’ll see where it goes from there,” MacLellan noted.
