Capitals Sign Chisholm & Extend Qualifying Offer To Lapierre, Officially Part Ways With Alexeyev & Dubé

The Washington Capitals made some key decisions ahead of free agency.

ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals made some key decisions ahead of free agency, signing restricted free agent defenseman Declan Chisholm to a two-year deal and issuing a qualifying offer to RFA center Hendrix Lapierre while parting way with two others.

Defenseman Alexander Alexeyev, winger Pierrick Dubé and goaltender Mitchell Gibson did not receive qualifying offers. Alexeyev and Dubé will become unrestricted free agents on Tuesday at 12 p.m., and Gibson signed an AHL contract for 2025-26 to play with Hershey and remain in the organization.

Chisholm was acquired at the 2025 NHL Draft in exchange for Chase Priskie to help bolster Washington’s blue line depth. His deal carries an AAV of $1.6 million. The 25-year-old is a puck-moving defenseman who played in 66 games with the Minnesota Wild last season and is a versatile option on the backend who can compete for ice time.

Lapierre’s 2024-25 season didn’t go according to plan, as he struggled to open the year with the Capitals and was ultimately demoted to the AHL’s Hershey Bears. He bounced back with a point-per-game season in the minors, but as he looks to prove he can be a full-time NHLer, management believes a bridge deal may be the best direction for now.

Alexeyev, meanwhile, will hit the market for the first time after he was unable to establish himself as a full-time member of the lineup. He spent the majority of the year as a healthy scratch and appeared in just eight regular-season games, and though he appeared in all 10 playoff games amid an injury to Martin Fehervary, Alexeyev couldn’t quite stand out or earn more minutes.

For the Capitals and Alexeyev, a first-round pick in 2018, it was important to give him the chance to earn a full-time role elsewhere, which is why the team is letting him go to free agency.

The 25-year-old has spent his entire career in the Capitals organization.

Gibson will make the full-time AHL jump this coming season after getting one game up in herhsey and spending 14 games down in the ECHL with the South Carolina Stingrays, where he went 12-1-0 with a .933 save percentage.