Andrei Markov not returning to Canadiens next season, joining KHL
MONTREAL — After 16 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, defenceman Andrei Markov is heading back to Russia.
The 38-year-old said on a conference call on Thursday that he will play in the KHL and possibly the Winter Olympics next season after failing to reach agreement on a new deal with Montreal.
Markov said he was not interested in skating for any other NHL club than Montreal, where he played 990 games and put up numbers that placed him among the best defencemen in the storied club’s history. And he did not rule out returning to the Canadiens — or to the NHL — one day.
“It is tough,” he said. “I made it clear at the end of the season that I wanted to stay with the Montreal Canadiens for the rest of my career.