Markov talks career, Montreal homecoming celebration with NHL.com

In NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Sitting Down with …" we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. In this edition, we feature Andrei Markov, a former defenseman who played his entire career with the Montreal Canadiens between 2000-2017. On Dec. 3, the Canadiens will welcome their quiet, popular star back to Bell Centre for a salute titled “Andrei Markov Homecoming,” a celebration of his career that will take place before the team’s game against the visiting Winnipeg Jets (7:30 p.m. ET; SN, RDS).

MONTREAL -- Andrei Markov arrived in Canada at age 21 for the start of the Montreal Canadiens’ 2000-01 training camp speaking almost no English and not a word of French, two years after he’d waited until the sixth round (No. 162) to hear his name called in the 1998 NHL Draft in Buffalo.

On Wednesday, five-plus years after his retirement from hockey, the 46-year-old native of Voskresensk, Russia will again step onto Bell Centre ice, this time out of the red, white and blue uniform of his only NHL team to be celebrated by the Canadiens and a rocking arena for his remarkable contribution to the League’s most storied franchise.

Markov played 990 regular-season games for the Canadiens between 2000-17, another 89 in nine trips to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He was a quiet giant on defense, a strong leader on and off the ice, a mentor for many who made every blue line partner a better player, a quarterback on the power play who found passing lanes that seemed not to exist.

Andrei Markov watches the action from the Canadiens bench during the 2003-04 season.

A two-time All-Star, Markov hung up his skates in April 2020 following three final professional seasons with Ak Bars Kazan and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, his NHL career ending in 2017 when Canadiens management declined his request for a two-year contract, offering him half of that.

His career spanned 25 years, from 1995-96 as a 17-year-old with his hometown team of Khmik, through 23 games with Lokomotiv in 2019-20.

Along the way, quilted with his 1,079 NHL games, Markov played 76 games for Russia in junior and senior competition, winning a gold medal in the 2008 IIHF World Championship in Quebec (a 5-4 overtime victory over Canada in the championship game) and a silver and bronze in World Junior Championships.

He skated in three Olympic Winter Games, twice the World Cup of Hockey and three times won the Russian championship, most recently the KHL’s Gagarin Cup in 2018 with Ak Bars Kazan.

Markov surely would have reached the 1,000-game regular-season NHL milestone had injuries, including two ACL surgeries on the same knee, not limited him to 65 games over three seasons from 2009-11, two NHL work stoppages costing him another two and a half seasons.

Andrei Markov with his wife, Sonya, twins Andrei and Mark, daughter Vasilisa and son Alexander during a family vacation in Sochi, Russia, in July 2025.

He retired from the NHL with 572 points (119 goals, 453 assists), tied with Guy Lapointe as the second-most productive defenseman in franchise history behind Larry Robinson’s 883 points. Markov’s goals and assists rank him third and second all-time in those categories, respectively, for Canadiens defensemen.

It was with gratitude that Markov received an email this past September from Canadiens owner Geoff Molson, asking whether he had interest in returning to Montreal from his home in Moscow for a homecoming night to celebrate his career.

“I was surprised and happy,” he said in conversation before he arrived in Montreal on Nov. 29, here for a week with his wife, Sonya, and their youngest children Vasilisa, 9, and Alexander, 6. Twins Andrei and Mark, 14, have remained at home for school.

“Politics of the world today mean that it’s not easy for the Canadiens to do what they’re doing to honor me. I really appreciate them wanting to do this. Five years ago, when I retired, I said it was too soon to put my career in perspective. But now, the first thing that comes to mind is that all of those years in Montreal was the best time of my life. I have many great memories from those years, and I was happy to spend my entire NHL career with the Canadiens.”

Andrei Markov in 2003, and over lunch in Montreal in 2015.

Markov spoke with NHL.com about his 16 seasons with the Canadiens, the emotions he’ll feel stepping back onto Bell Centre ice, his own quiet, commanding style of play, and Lane Hutson, the team’s young defense phenom who last season won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie.

When a player retires, he’ll often say that what he misses most is the camaraderie of his teams, the feeling that they’re like family, and the energy of the games, even the routine of preparing for them. What do you miss most about your Canadiens career?

“All of those things, but especially the fans. Every time I stepped on the ice at the Bell Centre, I felt special. It was an unbelievable feeling. If we won there, it was even better. We didn’t win the Stanley Cup, but all of those games in Montreal were very special and they’re going to be in my memories forever. (Captain) Saku Koivu’s first game back in Montreal after his battle with cancer (April 9, 2002) was unreal. It remains one of my favorite memories. I’ve never heard a building that loud.”

You’d prove to be a late-round gem for the Canadiens in the 1998 NHL Draft. You were in Buffalo, what are your recollections of it?

“I’d hoped to go in an early round, but when that didn’t happen, I went to a store to buy some presents for my friends. (laughs) I was back in time to hear my name called and go down to the Canadiens table to be given a jersey.”

Andrei Markov during a 2015 game at Bell Centre.

You’ve remembered your first day on skates in Voskresensk at age 6, “grabbing the boards and staying there the whole time you were on the ice.” You were much steadier in your seventh NHL game on Oct. 19, 2000, when you scored your first career goal…

“Power play. In Philadelphia, 5-on-3 on goalie Roman Cechmanek in a 3-3 tie. Slap shot, a one-timer. Right? I still have the puck.”

Where your sometimes defense partner P.K. Subban spoke in colorful paragraphs, even chapters, you were known for being a bit careful with your words. Is it fair to say you preferred to let your play speak for itself?

“I think so. I just tried to play my game and help our team win. I always liked to control the game when I was on the ice, feel the puck on my stick, make a good play.”

Give or take 50, any guess how many teammates you had on the Canadiens, and the number of goalies you faced?

(laughs) “No.” In fact, Markov played with 226 fellow Canadiens during his career, the most with forward Tomas Plekanec (767) and goalie Carey Price (389). He played against 175 opposing goalies, his 39 games against New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist the most.

Well, let’s try this: you had 215 minor penalties in your career and only one fighting major. Any memory of who you dropped your gloves against?

“Jason Spezza (the Ottawa Senators forward he fought April 1, 2008)! But it was more a wrestling match than a fight.”

Andrei Markov accepts the Canadiens’ ceremonial torch from defense partner P.K. Subban during 2015-16 home-opener pregame ceremonies at Bell Centre.

When you left the Canadiens in 2017, many were unhappy that you finished just 10 games shy of 1,000. You’d have liked to have reached that milestone, but in the end it wasn’t to be. Do you have any feelings about getting that close?

“You know what? Right now, with all the years I played, I feel that the numbers are just that. Numbers. You have your hockey career but most importantly it’s your family, your kids and your health. Those 10 games are just a number.”

This past summer, Canadiens defense Hall of Famer Serge Savard suggested that defenseman Lane Hutson “is probably the most talented player the Canadiens have had since Guy Lafleur.” You’ve seen Hutson play, what’s your take on him?

“Lane is a skilled player, a good skater with good vision. He’s got a good future. His first season was last year, so now it’s going to be tougher and tougher because opponents know the way he plays. He’ll need to improve himself every day, every game. As long as he does that, he’s got an excellent future. He needs to work hard and listen to what the coach wants from him. It’s all in his hands.”

Your last game on home ice for the Canadiens was more than eight years ago, on April 20, 2017, but you’ll be recognized by fans most everywhere you go during this visit. Does that surprise you?

“Canadiens fans have incredible passion for the game and their team. I’m surprised that any time I come back, people know me and want to shake my hand. The love of the fans is something that is very important to me. I’ll never forget that, and I’ll never forget them.”

Top photo: Top photo: Andrei Markov salutes the crowd after being named first star of the game against the Ottawa Senators at Montreal’s Bell Centre on March 25, 2017.