The Montreal Canadiens finally righted a wrong last night when they gave Andrei Markov the send-off he deserved, eight years after his messy divorce with the organization.
On Wednesday night, the Montreal Canadiens finally got to right what was perhaps the biggest wrong of the Marc Bergevin era by giving Andre Markov a proper send-off. The blueliner spent 16 seasons with the Sainte-Flanelle and played 990 games, picking up 572 points along the way, the second-highest total in team history (tied with Guy Lapointe). When he played his last season in 2016-17, he didn’t know it would be his last one, he had every intention of coming back, but he was unable to reach an agreement with the team for another contract.
Speaking to the press before the game, Markov explained that he doesn’t feel sour anymore about not getting to reach the 1,000-point mark because of the contractual dispute; it’s now water under the bridge for him, and he has no regret. He feels lucky to have played for the Habs for so long. He hasn’t spoken to Bergevin since then, however, and when he was asked if he had, he replied, “he’s in the city?” with a smile.
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The years haven’t changed the man, though; he remains as humble as he ever was, so unassuming in fact that when he was asked what he was most proud of in his career, he couldn’t come up with anything aside from the fact that he was proud to have worn the Habs jersey for so long and getting to play his whole career with the same team. Going back to the start of his career, he mentioned that Oleg Petrov was probably the person who helped him the most along the way.
Asked what it meant to him to receive a homecoming game, he explained:
I never expected that, so I was surprised to receive the email from Geoff [Molson – owner, president and CEO of the Canadiens], and I was happy. It surprised me, but it’s something special that’s going to stay for the rest of my life.- Markov on what the night meant to him
In town with his family, the Russian blueliner was clearly looking forward to stepping on the ice with his loved ones and said his kids would be surprised by the reaction of the crowd.
As for which game holds a special place in his heart, he immediately replied, Saku Koivu’s return after his cancer battle, because of how incredible the atmosphere was.
On Wednesday night, when he was presented to the Bell Centre faithful, he got his own electric welcome. The cheers went on for over two minutes as the fans serenated the defenseman with applause and the traditional “Ole,ole, ole” and he was nearly moved to tears, just like his wife. Meanwhile, his kids were looking around at the capacity crowd, cheering for their dad, and they were clearly impressed. A man of few words, he still gave a short speech with the line “Je t’aime Montreal” which was met with a massive roar of applause.
I won’t lie; it gave me goosebumps to hear that. It’s in moments like this that you realize how much more than a game hockey is in Montreal and how much this fanbase cares about those who have bled red, white and blue.
Throughout the match, the team displayed congratulatory messages on the jumbotron from former teammates P.K. Subban, Carey Price, Mike Komisarek, Jose Theodore, and Brendan Gallagher, as well as one from one of the best Russian players in league history, Alexander Ovechkin. The Habs even dug up an old staring duel with fellow blueliner Alex Emelin, an absolute blast from the past who had everyone laughing.
Did the tribute inspire the Canadiens last night? It’s impossible to say, but they played a much better game against the Winnipeg Jets than they did against the Ottawa Senators the night before. The fans went home happy, just like Markov, who received a tremendous amount of love as he finally got to say goodbye to the public who cheered him on for 16 years.
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