Washington Capitals defenseman Alex Alexeyev was pepper-sprayed and arrested last weekend after a physical confrontation in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington.
Public records from the Virginia Judiciary reveal that Alexeyev is set to appear in court on June 11, facing a public intoxication charge. His offense is considered a Class 4 misdemeanor, which comes with zero jail time and, at most, a fine of no more than $250.
The first reporting of Alexeyev’s run-in with the law came from ARLnow earlier this week. The 25-year-old defender was arrested after a fight in front of Big Tony’s Pizzeria, across from the Clarendon Metro station.
The Russian rearguard was booked at the Arlington County jail at 4:19 am Saturday and later released. Alexeyev’s booking photo showed him still missing several teeth due to a high stick he took in the mouth during the Capitals’ first-round playoff series.
Alexeyev is a restricted free agent this summer after featuring in 18 combined regular-season and postseason games for the Caps this past year. Before news of the incident was made public, Capitals president of hockey operations, Brian MacLellan, stated that the club would like to get their 2018 first-round pick into more games moving forward.
Alexander Alexeyev is a sign-and-trade candidate
On the back end, the Capitals went from having one of the league’s weaker blue lines to one of the better ones in a span of a year. John Carlson continues to lead the charge, and he’ll be back for at least one more season, alongside Roy, Chychrun, Rasmus Sandin, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Martin Fehervary.
All six of those players have at least one year remaining on their respective contracts, and Dylan McIlrath and Ethan Bear — if he is re-signed — are both waiting in the wings. For that reason, Washington could look to move on from 2018 first-rounder Alexander Alexeyev.
Drafted 31st overall, Alexeyev is a pending restricted free agent after making $825,000 against the cap the last couple of seasons. The 25-year-old has managed to play in just 77 NHL games over the past four seasons, and he managed only 11, split between the Capitals and Bears, in 2024-25.
Alexeyev played 10 playoff games for the team and didn’t look out of place. But he’ll be due for a raise on his next contract, and he probably deserves to play on a blue line where he’ll get more ice time. That could happen eventually in Washington, but it won’t be next season. For that reason, the Russian could be on the trade block this summer. Although there’s a possibility the front office re-signs him, he could also be getting a change of scenery between now and training camp.
