Headlines

  • Vegas Golden Knights Fire Peter DeBoer
  • New York Islanders Name Lane Lambert Head Coach
  • Montreal Canadiens Win 2022 NHL Draft Lottery
  • New York Islanders Fire Barry Trotz
  • Philadelphia Flyers Will Not Retain Mike Yeo As Head Coach
  • Jets Agree To Three-Year Extension With Kevin Cheveldayoff
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Free Agent Profile: Andrei Markov

July 13, 2017 at 7:39 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

Generally speaking, there isn’t much of a market for 38-year-old defensemen with plenty of mileage on them.  However, Andrei Markov is looking to buck that trend and is currently the most prominent blueliner remaining on the open market.

Feb 24, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov (79) skates against the Washington Capitals at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY SportsMarkov has been with the Canadiens since they drafted him in the sixth round (162nd overall) back in 1998.  Montreal went into last season looking to reduce his role and ice time after he logged nearly 24 minutes per game the previous year.  They did just that for the majority of the campaign but by the end, he was back on the top pairing, something that carried through into the postseason.

Despite missing 19 games due to a groin muscle injury, Markov still had a fairly productive season, collecting 36 points (6-30-36) in 62 contests, ranking his 16th league-wide in points per game.  He followed that up by logging over 26 minutes per night in the playoffs, showing he can still handle a big role when he needs to.

It’s a combination of those two factors that have Markov continuing to push for a two-year deal, something that would have seemed highly unlikely just a few months ago.  At this point, there have been no takers which is why he’s still a free agent.

Potential Suitors

The Canadiens are the obvious one here.  GM Marc Bergevin has publicly stated that they would like to bring him back and Markov said after the season that he would like to return.  While they added Karl Alzner in free agency, he doesn’t exactly replace the offensive production that Markov brings to the table.  However, Montreal is only willing to offer him a one-year deal and last week, Bergevin voiced some frustration over the asking price.

Assuming that Markov isn’t likely to sign with a rebuilding team at this stage of his career, his market is limited to teams with postseason aspirations and a fair amount of cap or budget space available.  That’s a fairly small list overall.

Among the teams on that list would be the Oilers, who have the money for one year before Connor McDavid’s contract kicks in and they’ll be without a key cog in Andrej Sekera to start the season so there’s an important role that Markov could fill.  Florida is looking to rebound after a tough 2016-17 season and have the cap space to work with although signing him would push their defensive payroll close to $29MM.  The Devils have plenty of cap space and could up the ante financially but given where they are in their rebuilding process, Markov isn’t going to be the player that pushes them over the top.

Projected Contract

Last month, we projected a one-year, $5MM deal for Markov with Montreal, who ranked 14th on our top-50 list.  Given the last of options and the unwillingness of teams to give him his two-year, $12MM asking price, there’s a good chance that his new contract will still come in at or around that dollar value.  The bigger question at this point is whether he’ll return to the only NHL team he has ever played for or if he’ll look to finish his career elsewhere.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Andrei Markov| Free Agency

Flames Re-Sign Micheal Ferland To Two-Year Deal
Main
Free Agent Notes: Wennberg, Anderson, Leier, Auger, Sifers
View Comments (1)
newest oldest

Comments

  1. Doc Halladay

    5 years ago

    I can’t envision Markov not re-upping with Montreal. They have the cap space and the need for a puck moving left D.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Vegas Golden Knights Fire Peter DeBoer

    New York Islanders Name Lane Lambert Head Coach

    Montreal Canadiens Win 2022 NHL Draft Lottery

    New York Islanders Fire Barry Trotz

    Philadelphia Flyers Will Not Retain Mike Yeo As Head Coach

    Jets Agree To Three-Year Extension With Kevin Cheveldayoff

    Red Wings Will Not Bring Back Jeff Blashill Next Season

    Dustin Brown To Retire After 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs

    Buffalo Sabres Sign Owen Power

    Doug Wilson Steps Down From Role With San Jose Sharks

    Recent

    Stars Notes: Klingberg, Bowness, Injuries

    Update On Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang

    Edmonton Oilers Recall Seven Players

    Wild Notes: Goaltending, Johansson, Free Agency

    Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

    Kevin Fiala’s Future Remains Uncertain

    Philadelphia Flyers Sign Adam Ginning

    Maple Leafs Will Not Make Management, Coaching Changes

    Winnipeg Jets Interviewing Barry Trotz

    St. Louis Blues Sign Vadim Zherenko

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Coyotes Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version