Yesterday, Andrew Zadarnowski who writes for Habs Eyes on the Prize and also works for TSN, broke out the news that former Montreal Canadiens blueliner Andrei Markov had received 3 contract offers from NHL teams and one KHL team. Today, some other sources are reporting as much as 5 NHL teams and 3 KHL ones taking a swing at The General. No one can say with complete certainty who the interested teams are but there are some out there wondering if perhaps, the Canadiens should consider bringing him back.
Former #Habs defenceman Andrei Markov has received contract offers from three NHL teams and one KHL team.
First things first, Markov had an impressive career with the Canadiens especially for a player who was drafted in the 162nd spot in the 6th round of the 1998 NHL entry draft. All in all, he has played 990 games in the NHL all of which wearing the bleu-blanc-rouge and has 572 points to show for it (119 goals and 453 assists). That gives him the 3rd rank amongst all CH D-man in history. Guy "Pointu" Lapointe also has 572 points but in just 777 games which gives him sole possession of the 2nd place which is still 311 points behind the all-time leader, Larry "Big Bird" Robinson, who notched 883 points in 1202 games.
That being said, Markov is now 40 years old, will be 41 next December and he's coming off a 2-year contract with the Kazan Ak-Bars. During his 2 year stint in Russia, he put up 47 points in 104 regular season games and 3 points in 23 playoffs games. While his team was swept in the first round by the Avangard Omsk (who would go on to lose in the Gagarin Cup final) this season, they did win the Championship the year before and even if Markov failed to put on big offensive numbers, he assumed a crucial leadership role and was instrumental in his team's conquest of the highest prize in Russia.
Taking all this into account, could he still help the Montreal Canadiens? I think it's rather obvious that the organization has decided on a bit of a youth movement but they are still remaining faithful to a few grizzled vets (Price and Weber are 31 and 33 year old). Would adding another veteran be that bad? The answer is: it depends. It depends of what Markov would be looking for role wise. While he was still used for 20+ minutes a game in the KHL, he wouldn't be able to thrive in such a role in today's NHL. He has lost a lot of speed but he used to make up for that with what can only be described as a very high hockey IQ. The only way a return to Montreal could be envisioned is on terms similar to those which Plekanec agreed to last season. Pleky had a 3.5 M contract (including performance bonus) which translated to a 2.5 M cap hit and was made well aware that the youngsters' development would be a priority. In the end, he only played 3 games which allowed him to reach the 1000 game mark and score one last goal on his big night before disappearing in the sunset as Bergevin put him on waivers...
One thing is for sure, last season's Canadiens' defence corps could use some help. So far, Bergevin has resigned both Christian Folin and Brett Kulak but still has a need for some talented left D. Or course, the likes of Josh Brook, Alexander Romanov and Cale Fleury will be given their chance come training camp and we'll also have to see if Noah Juulsen really is all better but if Markov is on board with a bit of a mentoring role, his presence sure wouldn't hurt anyone. Besides, considering how badly the power play did last season, it would be rather nice to see him reprise his role on the man advantage.
To those who say that his time is finished and that the Habs must look to the future, I ask you why not make a compromise? Instead of trying to fix the blueline with free agents signings (like Bergevin did with Karl Alzner - what flash of genius that was) or like he might try to do with Jake Gardiner, why not aim for a bit of both? Sign an aging but discounted price Markov to hold their spot warm for the young guys while they carry on working and learning? Stick him on the third pairing coaching the future core members of our defence and allow him to get some time on the power play. Should the young guns just be too good, too fast, you respectfully ask him to go the Plekanec way and you give the 20 year old guys plenty of play time... Meanwhile, Markov will have reached the 1000 game mark, the Habs faithful will have had a nice bit of nostalgia and the relationship between team and player will be patched up. Doing it that way could also allow Bergevin to pursue some scoring on the free agency market and thus improve the team in two places rather than one.
Would it really be that bad? Perhaps I feel like this because I've seen him grow in the organisation and play ever single one of those 16 season with my beloved Habs but I'd love to see him welcomed back in the organisation and leave for good on better terms when the Bell Centre crowd will have been able to give him a proper send off.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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