Markov reflects on time with Canadiens, says he could consider coaching

Andrei Markov took no souvenir from his final game in professional hockey. No puck nor jersey nor score sheet.

On March 11, the defenseman's Lokomotiv team in the Kontinental Hockey League having just been eliminated from the Gagarin Cup playoffs by Jokerit, Markov skated off the Arena 2000 rink in Yaroslavl, Russia, with a simple gesture that he thinks was witnessed by no one.
"I bent down and touched the ice, and that was it," Markov said Monday from his hometown of Voskrenensk, about 60 miles southeast of Moscow. "It was tough. I'd spent 25 years in hockey and I knew this was going to be my final game. I was ready for that. But I was thinking that 25 years had gone by so quick. It seemed like only yesterday that I'd started, and today it's over."
Markov formally retired from hockey April 16, a decision announced by his Russian agent, Sergey Isakov. It ended a career that began in 1995-96 as a 17-year-old with Khimik, his hometown team, and crossed the Atlantic for 990 NHL games during 16 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, twice playing in the NHL All-Star Game.

Andrei Markov in 2003, four seasons into his 16-season NHL career
Along the way, the 41-year-old played 76 games for Russia in junior and senior competition. He helped Russia win the 2008 IIHF World Championship in Quebec (a 5-4 overtime victory against Canada in the championship game), helped his country finish second (1998) and third (1997) at the IIHF World Junior Championship, played in the Olympics three times (2006, 2010, 2014), the World Cup of Hockey twice (2004, 2016) and three times won championships in Russia, most recently the Gagarin Cup in 2018 with Ak Bars Kazan.
For now, during the global lockdown due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, Markov and his wife, Sonya, are living with his mother on her property in Voskrenensk. There's plenty of land for the outdoor play of four children -- twins Andrei and Mark, 9; daughter Vasilisa, who turns 4 this week; and Alexander, 16 months. In time, they will return to their home outside of Moscow.
Markov's NHL career ended in 2017, his wish to remain with the Canadiens unfulfilled when he requested a two-year contract and was offered one year. He returned to his homeland, signing a two-year KHL contract with Ak Bars Kazan.

Andrei Markov (left) with Ak Bars Kazan captain Alexander Svitov after winning the 2018 KHL Gagarin Cup championship
In Montreal last summer, Markov told the Montreal Gazette that he hoped to finish his career with the Canadiens. When a contract wasn't offered, he signed for one season with Lokomotiv, knowing in his heart before the first of 23 games in 2019-20 that this would be his final season.
He had thought for a time about the 10 games that would have brought him to 1,000 in the NHL.
"But not anymore," Markov said. "When I left Montreal in 2017, I was thinking about those 10 games a lot. If I didn't miss all the time I did with injuries, I could have played 1,000 games. But there's nothing I can do about it."
Indeed, Markov surely would have reached that milestone had injuries, including two anterior cruciate ligament surgeries on the same knee, not limited him to 65 games during three seasons from 2009-11.
Markov arrived in Canada at age 21 for Canadiens training camp ahead of the 2000-01 season. Two years after he'd waited until the sixth round (No. 162) to hear his name called at the 1998 NHL Draft in Buffalo, he spoke barely a word of English and no French.

Andrei Markov (left) with Ilya Nikulin after Russia's victory at the 2008 IIHF World Championship in Quebec City
In a 2010 interview, Markov recalled having learned to skate as a 6-year-old in Voskrenensk, wearing cheese-cutters and hanging onto the boards for support. He laughed about being tutored in English in Montreal by Oleg Petrov, Dainius Zubrus and Andrei Bashkirov, and picking up some salty turns of phrase from Gino Odjick, his first roommate on road trips.
Markov would become the Canadiens' best defenseman and a mentor for many during his 17 years in Montreal, a calm, unflappable presence on the blue line who skated huge minutes, quarterbacked the power play, found passing lanes that seemingly didn't exist, and generally made every defense partner a better player.
Legendary Canadiens defenseman Larry Robinson hailed Markov's uncommon vision of the ice when the latter left for the KHL in 2017.
"That's probably one of the reasons why Markov has been so consistent for all these years and put up the points he has, because he does see the ice well," Robinson said. "You don't have a guy who captains your power play on the back who can't make a pass. [Shea] Weber's not a bad passer either, but he's got a cannon back there. Markov has that uncanny ability to find open people and get the puck through, and that's certainly a great attribute."

Andrei Markov (left) arrives at New York's Madison Square Garden on April 22, 2017 with teammate Alexei Emelin for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers, eliminating the Canadiens, would be Markov's final NHL game
Markov vividly recalls his first NHL goal, a 45-foot power-play one-timer against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 19, 2000. His final goal in pro hockey also came with a man-advantage, in overtime against Dynamo Moscow on Dec. 17.
He finished his NHL career with 572 points (119 goals, 453 assists) and 32 points (five goals, 27 assists) in 89 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Markov says it's too early for him to have put this all into perspective, "needing to find the time to sit down and think about it.
"I might think about coaching one day. But for now, with what's going on in the world, I have to take care of my family and myself. When [the coronavirus] is over, I'm going to think about it. I'd like to try, maybe. We'll see what's going to happen."
Markov has been touched by the praise he's read online, especially an Instagram post by his friend and former Canadiens teammate P.K. Subban. And he was delighted to receive an email from Michel Therrien, today a Flyers assistant under coach Alain Vigneault. Therrien replaced Vigneault with the Canadiens during Markov's rookie season in 2000-01, and was behind the bench to start the defenseman's final NHL season in 2016-17 before being replaced by Claude Julien.

Subban posted on his Instagram account,

:
"I can't speak to all the greats that I didn't get to play against or watch, but to me Andrei Markov is one of the best Defencemen to ever play the game. Everyone who played with Markie knew just how good he was. He could defend and shutdown the best of the best, and when it was time to score a big goal on the power play or set up his teammates, he did so leaving you in awe. He was a special player & I learned a lot from him. Markie was a man of few words to the media, but playing with him and getting to know him, he was funny, he was a guy that wanted to win, always stressed team first, and was willing to not just preach that, but teach that! Guy was a stud! All the best Markie! Good luck in retirement #79"
There is no single career highlight that stands out, but something broader.
"The best thing is winning, in any sport," Markov said. "When you win, you're the happiest person in the world. Every time we won in Montreal was special for me. When we won the Worlds in Quebec, that was special too. So was winning the Gagarin Cup and the Russian championship (twice with Dynamo Moscow, then with Ak Bars Kazan)."
Markov has heard the voices saying his No. 79 should be retired by the Canadiens; he's the only player in Montreal history to have worn it. At the very least, they plan to honor him for his contributions to the organization.

"It's not my decision," Markov said of potentially having his number retired. "If the Canadiens do that one day, I'm going to be happy and proud to be there."
On Monday, an infant son gurgling in his lap, he wanted to express his appreciation to Canadiens fans who stood by him through his 16 seasons of health and rehabilitation in Montreal.
"A big thank you for their support, for everything," Markov said. "They are the best fans in the world."